A Special Day

Three weekends ago was a special weekend for our household for many reasons.  

1) First time my brother met his nephew!

 2) Collin's Baptism

This was truely a special day because we were surround by so many family and friends.
It was a totally humbling experience.  

Joe always knew that if we had children I would like them to be raised Catholic- I was raised Catholic and believe that many of my beliefs are because of this- while I will be the first to state there are ALOT of things wrong with the church there are alot of good things as well.   I do not talk about my faith often because to be honest I am a private person, but this was something that was very important to me and my family.

 When we started looking for a place to have Collin's Baptism it was discoraging because all the churches in NOVA did not want to Baptize Collin because Joe and I were not married in a church and if you remember correctly the reason we did not get married in a church is because they would not let us 4 years ago because we lived together.  Anyway, I was telling this to one of my patients and she actually had a similar story and told me to contact Holy Trinity in Georgetown DC.  I sent them an email being very honest about our situation and I recieved a email back the next day stating they would love to Baptize Collin if we took their Baptism Class.  Last November we went to the class, and I loved it!  The priest who spoke was wonderful and admitted that the Catholic Church was not perfect and that Baptism was about welcoming and sharing LOVE!

So PERFECT!

We picked the date for Mother's Day weekend because I thought it would make it a little extra special for all.

We arrived at the church early so we could find parking, feed Collin and change him.

I was afraid he would spit up on his outfit in the car.  

Of course my only picture with me and Collin

Thanks Keely

The Godparents

My best friend Keely who came up from Richmond, VA

and my Brother, Geoffrey who came up from Alabama.

The ceremony was perfect inside a small chapel.  

One of my favorite pictures

So many people came to help us celebrate this special day.
We had extended family come into town and got to meet my brother's girlfriend for the 1st time.  

Collin was perfect during the ceremony and slept like a baby on the way back.

We then as all Catholic do headed back to Celebrate- AKA PARTY!!

YUMMY!

Basically a time to party, and celebrate Collin 

but more importantly welcoming him to our growing family. 

Everyone wanted to hold him and he was so good the whole night.
He actually wore my brother's Baptism outfit which made it even more special.  

Totally love his face here.

We had a great time because we were surround by so much love!
Collin is truly a lucky guy!
And now a blessed guy =0)

The Final Reason was it was Mother's Day
My first Mother's Day
To be honest this day is kind of a blur because it was so busy in our house with people coming and going which was fine- that we re-created Mother's Day the following Sunday which was a perfect low key day... stay tunned

Happy 4!

Crazy to think back to 4 years ago- so much has changed especially in the last year.

Here is to the next 40.....

Love ya Babe...

Lifesavers 2-3 Months

There were a couple of items that were absolute lifesavers when it came to months 2-3.  

Of course we continued to use alot of stuff I blogged about earlier but the things that are really handy right now...

Our activity Mat

We registered for the Baby Einstein Neptune Activity Mat which Joe picked out.  

I have come to love this and it has taken up residence on our main level which is where Collin spends most of this time during the day.  

This is where we do story time, tummy time, play time, etc

Our Swing

This has become a life saver in the last three weeks because it is the one thing that I found will calm Collin if he is crying and will not stop after I have tried everything else.

This is also where he naps the best right now. 

This was a hand-me-down but so far I have loved it.

It would be nice to have the new version which you can plug into the wall to save on batteries but since we did not pay for it - I can't complain.  

The Wubba Nub

Yes I never thought I would be a pacifier mom but it works and he loves it. 

We now have two just in case one gets lost. 

Happy Baby = Happy Mom
I know eventually he will need to be weened of this but that is what day care if for =0)

It will be interesting to see how he progresses over the next two months and which items we come to love.

Flexible Spending Accounts

Up to this point in our life, Joe and I had never ever used these.

I would have my yearly well woman check up and Joe his every two year "man" visit which might have a co-pay but everything else was pretty much covered.  Joe and I felt there was really no point since our health care cost were minimal.

However, at election time last year in November, we both decided this was something we should look into and start using.  I took it from the stand point of 1) It will be nice to have some money saved for expenses we do not plan for and 2) The VERY VERY Small tax break it will bring us.

We decided to do this out of both of our paychecks- mine for me and Joe for him and Collin since both of them are on his insurance while I am on my own.

I sat down and figured what my estimated out of pocket health care expenses would be this year with my delivery and everything involved including breast pump rental because this is actually something I can use my Flexible Spending Account for.  This in a way was also good because it is how I learned about my insurance plan and some of the peaks like the free breast pump/pumping bags/lactation consults, etc.  I totaled all the estimated cost I had up and then divided it by 26 since there are 26 paychecks to figure out how much I needed to save- it was miminual out of each pay check. My flexible spending account is nice in the fact that all the money you designate is already in there- which means I do not have to wait to use it which is great because my only really health care expenses this year were related to childbirth/breastfeeding so I can submit everything at once and be done....

So here is what I am submitting.....

ER co-pay for when I was readmitted to the hospital-  $228

Prescription co-pay when I had mastitis-  $5

Prescription co-pay for blood pressure medication I was on for couple of weeks $5

Lanolin $6.67- yes my plan covers this as a health expense

Vitamin D Drops for Breastfeeding-  Total of $16.24

Breast Pump Rental for 5 months- $180

Joe's health spending works a little differently in the form of a credit card however you have to wait until the money is in the account to use it.  So this means we have had to spread out paying the bills- this is kind of been a pain but at the same time it is so much easier than mine in which I have to pay the bill and submit a claim to get reimbursed- with Joe's you just charge a credit card that is linked to the account.  

All and all I am totally glad we did this this year and I think we opt the right selection of cash for each of us.  Next year I do not think I will have any withdrawn for me as I will be back to my yearly exams but we will probably continue to have an account for any expenses related to Collin, especially if we keep Joe's crappy insurance which we are talking about not doing and switching him to mine even through it might be more upfront (per pay check) but less out of pocket (after paycheck) since mine has a very low deductible and most everything is covered- as evident by my delivery, ER, and ICU being covered expect for $228!!!

All and all it does not save us that much in taxes but has been more of a saftey net with me only getting paid for part time while I am on Maternity leave- it has been nice to have the money saved.  

Our visit to UVA

Our friends, Chris and Susan currently live in Charlottesville, VA.

Chris is finishing up his P.H.D- WAHOOO!!!!
and has already accepted a job at Florida State in the Econ department- BOOOO!!!! (We are happy for you just sad you are moving- and I expect you to wear Clemson stuff all over FSU!)  We decided to head down last Saturday to visit them as it might be our only chance to see them before they head to Florida.  This being our first day trip with Collin I was a little nervous but figured everything would go well and if he got fussy we would just come home.

We got on the road after feeding Collin around 10:15am.  I decided to sit in the back with Collin in hopes to keep him up a little which worked well- he was up for about 45 minutes and then slept the rest of the way. Clemson was also in the car with us- talk about a full car load!

When we got there- Collin was due to feed- so luckily Chris and Susan were ready to lend a helping hand. 

We then headed out to a local Pub/Brewery called Devils Backbone Brewing Company.
We were all starving and they had hard cider to drink so I was in heaven.
Chris of course showed Collin how to use sharp objects!
Thank you very much =0)

After lunch we headed to Susan's favorite Cidery, Bold Rock.

Susan shares my love for hard Cider!

Bold Rock

We did a Cider tasting- Baby in tow of course!

Oh how I love cider!!!

We treated ourselves to 2 6packs of cider which are not in our fridge for me.

Bold Rock should be carried soon in Wegmans which has me totally excited as I love supporting local companies!

Totally love how the Wubba is in Chris' mouth!

We headed back to their house to feed Collin again and then got on the road to head back.

We got home about 8:30 and it was 9:30 before we put Collin in bed which was a little late but that is life.  He slept till 6am the next morning, and then went back down till 9 after feeding him. 

I will be honest in stating- WE HAVE THE BEST BABY EVER!

He was great and just went everywhere with us! 

He really was only fussy when he was hungry which I came prepared with extra bottles just in case!   

Thanks to Susan and Clapp for having us.

We had a blast.  

Tea time with Granny

My mom and I are always looking for special things to do together, 

and while I was on Maternity Leave I figured this would be a good time to get together because when I go back to work I know my schedule is going to be a little crazy.  

I had a Groupon for the Pink Bicycle Tea Room in Occaquan that was going to expire in June so I asked my mom what date was good for her and we made reservations.

The Groupon was for the Queen's Tea which is the biggest option.  Normally 56$ for two- my groupon I paid $24 for.

The tea room is in cute little Occaquan- parking was hard as we went on a Friday afternoon.

I took Collin with us because he is really well behaved and she put us in small room so if he started fussy he would not bother anyone- he was great and did not fuss at all!

Collin Dressed in his tea room best!

Our tea came with a choice of soup or salad, a scone, and sandwhiches/desserts.

We each had our choice of tea- I went with a Pomogranite because it was Caffeeine Free and my mom went with Key Lime which was actually very good!

My mom and I had done tea at the Mayflower in DC 2 years ago which was definetly a fun but upscaled event.  This was much for laid back, and with a baby was much appreciated.

The Tea room is more antique is the best way to put it, with mismatched china, and old paintings. 

Very different from the Mayflower but what I would have expected from a cute place in the Occaquan.

We both had the soup which was excellent and the food was great.

While I totally had fun, I do not know if I would do the Queen's Tea again, I might try something a little small as it was alot of food and my mom and I could barely eat all of it and if I was paying full price I would say it is a little pricey but then again this is something my mom and I only do when we get Groupons or Specialicious deals- that is also how we went to the Mayflower.  

The pro of going during the week is the tea room was not busy which meant we were not rushed at all. We got there at 1pm and did not leave until around 3 pm. 

I would imagine it being more lively on a Weekend day. 

The massive amounts of food!

Granny and Collin- sleeping because that is what he does best.

All and all it was a fun outing.

Paradise Springs Winery

A couple weekends ago Joe and I decided to venture out for the day and have a Date day with Collin, 

since we are staringd to try to get him in bed by 8 unless there is something planned, we often do our dates during the day unless we have a babysitter- aka my parents.  

Joe and I love wineries as many of you know, but I hate driving to them, especially now with a baby because it means he sleeps the whole way there and the whole way back and then is a little fussy the rest of the day and does not sleep as well at night.   Joe and I decided to either try two of the wineries that were close to us- either Paradise Springs Winery in Clifton or Winery at Bull Run in Centreville.  

We opted for Paradise Springs Winery because they had a nice outdoor picnic area that was very spread out in case we had baby melt down- which we did of course =0)

It took us 20 minutes to get there- straight off 29, turn left on Clifton road and follow the signs.  Very easy.  Joe and I decided to just get a bottle of wine and chance it instead of doing a tasting.  We are on more of a budget right now with me not working so it was silly to each pay 10$ for a tasting and then buy a bottle of wine for lunch.  Joe and I looked at the wines and decided to go with the Cabernet Franc because this is a wine we both like.  We bough out bottle of wine and headed out door to the pinic area.  They did have a huge outdoor patio but with Collin we did not want him fussing and causing disturbance to any of the other patrons.  

The pinic area was perfect and apparently a place you take babies- there were 4 others that we saw!

Baby at a winery!!! WAHOO!!!!

The wine itself was excellent- so good that I want to go back and actually do a tasting now.  

I love that the place is close and also that there are picnic areas which can make it a low cost date afternoon.  We packed our own picnic and purchased a bottle of wine which was $28 dollars.  

Awesome date day for $28.

I see this on our favorites.  

But the best thing was we had a blast with Collin!