Water Baby

Veronica is such a good little swimmer. She gets very excited when it is bath time. We used lay her down on a cushion in her baby bathtub but she's grown too big for it. Now we lay the cushion in a full sized tub, usually she just crawls off and splashes around at her leisure.

V's First Haircut

Everyone told me not to do it except my sister to who told me Veronica needs a hair cut.


Here she is eating scrambled eggs and looks a bit like a rough tomboy.


When her hair is combed to the side it really does not look that bad.


The main reason why I cut her hair is that she loves to pull barrettes out and stick them in her mouth and also loves to rub food in her hair at meal times.

Doe-Eyed Veronica

She just keeps getting cuter and cuter by the day, I think all parents say that about their children. Now that Veronica is getting closer and closer to being a year old I have to stop treating her like a baby and more like a toddler. She is quite independent and I find myself rarely saying "no" to her except when things are dangerous. Her latest obsessions are playing in or near the toilet and tub, eating dog food and looking at her reflection in the dishwasher and over.


This funny photo was taken by my sister Kentra. No matter how long it has been since Veronica has been her, she still recognizes her auntie immediately. No extra teeth have come in yet. She is still hanging on and eating well with six. In two weeks she will have her 1 year check up and I know they will ell me to wean her from the bottle. She only takes it 3-4 times a day before naps and before bed and for the past two weeks she has been using her sippy cup at every meal, maybe there is hope for her yet.

30 Weeks + The Question of Circumcision

I had a doctor’s appointment today and all is well. After 30 weeks, I need to see my OB/GYN every 2 weeks instead of once a month. I listened to the baby's heartbeat, got my blood pressure checked (140/80) and had my fundal height measured. Everything seems to be progressing nicely and I am not worried at all. I am feeling the usual aches and pains of pregnancy but nothing too out of the ordinary.

After the quick exam we talked about cord blood banking and circumcision. Deme and I have chatted about circumcision before, his first reaction is to have it done since many people in the U.S. do it and he thinks it will be practical from a hygienic standpoint. For several months he was quite insistent about it but after my chat with the doctor today (she does it not the pediatrician) and more internet research on the gomco clamp (do not click on the link of you are squeamish), I think I have made up my mind. I do not want my baby boy put through a medically unnecessary procedure. Deme says if I feel that strongly about it, then he will support my decision.

From a mommy standpoint, I just do not see the need of having my baby strapped down and a piece of skin on his penis cut off. I think I would just cry and cry. I do not want him to go through it and I do not want to either.

No Diabetes for Me

After a week I have received my results. I am fine, I am not diabetic. Part of me wanted to get a warning so I was forced to watch what I eat, I guess I have to self-impose a diet for these last couple of months since I am feeling heavier and heavier but the week.

A lot of the times I have trouble walking up stairs, getting in and out of bed and just moving around in general. The baby has been head down since week 25 and it is really creating pressure and discomfort. He kicks all hours of the day is is quite active, I wonder if he will be a long and skinny newborn like Veronica or not.

Chatty V

Nevermind that V's toys are all over, I think she is trying to sing along to the I pod.

When Daddy's Away...

Daddy Deme left the house early today to go to the dump. We ended up getting rid of a little more than half a ton of construction debris. As he slaved away and worked his fingers to the bone, we girls went out for lunch and then had a good time at home dancing and listening to music.


Veronica's bangs are getting really long but Deme does not want me to trim them. She now pulls all barretts and clips off, so often they are in her face.

The 3 Hour Glucose Test

I had a one hour glucose test last week and my results were slightly elevated. Normal values are 125 and below, my value was 131. When I was pregnant with Veronica my value was 151. (Much too high, I did not end up taking the the 3 hour test and went straight to the low carb diet.) My doctor here wanted me to take the 3 hour glucose test and so today I did.

The preparations began the night before. I stopped eating at 9 pm and headed to the clinic at 7 am and was there by 7:30 a.m. I was made to drink a glucose solution that tasted sweet and a bit icky. Many women gag and vomit while drinking the solution but with my iron stomach, I just downed the stuff. At 8:15 my first blood sample was take and subsequent samples were taken at 9:15, 10:15 and 11:15. By lunch time I was starving. I was not allowed to have anything for 4 hours except water. What torture! I did not want to binge so I started by eating a banana then a sandwich. All in all things went well, the clinic had a little medical cot that I took two short naps on while I was waiting for the time to pass. The last blood draw was the worst, they could not find a vein and ended up fishing around in my arm. In the end, another technician did the job and I was on my merry way. They were quite gentle with me which I was grateful for. My results come in a few days.

Will V Be Confused

We just found out that my mom plans to be in the States for 6+ months and Deme's mom is coming for 2 weeks at Christmas time. There is no doubt that Veronica will get her fair share of Cantonese and Italian during the holiday season.

We have a babysitter that comes three times a week in the mornings and another mother’s helper that comes three times a week in the afternoon. (We are splurging on help while I take care of the remodel.) Our afternoon helper speaks Spanish to Veronica and so my darling baby is being exposed to three languages on a weekly basis. When my mom comes, she will be exposed to four. Whew! I often wonder how she comprehends all of these languages in her little brain. I know she understands me most of the time whether I am speaking to her in Italian or English, the question is; what language will Veronica utter first?

So far, she can say the following:

"Mum Mum" which means food
"Nai Nai" which means milk
"Zaby" which refers to Zavey

She says "mamma", "papi", "dada" and other random things that make no sense to either one of us.

She can give you a high five, she can wave to herself in a mirror and to other people, and for an 11 month old, I think she is average. What I love about her is that she is a people person. When we go out on the town, she tries to get the attention of all those around her by waving and smiling. She not doing too badly for a 35 week preemie!


Veronica and Deme at Ruby's diner having a weekend lunch. We usually have lunch out as a family once a week on Saturday or Sunday.


Ruby's Diner gives away free model pink Cadillac for kids to put together.

Not A Jelly Donut

This is my 7 month belly not a Krispy Creme donut. I had my 28 week exam yesterday and all is well. My blood pressure is okay and I will find out in a day or two if I have gestational diabetes or not. The baby is head down and has been that way for about 3 weeks, no wonder I have been feeling lots of pressure and strain.

11 Months Old!

Our little girl is almost a year old. We plan to have a tiny birthday party for her and her friends with cupcakes, donuts and balloons at the Little Gym. We do not want to make a big deal out of it and do not want gifts, we just want her to know how much we love her and that she is the best thing to have happened to her papi and me. We appreciate her more and more everyday. Once in a while we forget how fantastic she is but it's not very often.

V Feels Better

Since we had to take V to the pediatrician twice last week, we found out she weighs 23 pounds/10.5 kilos and is 32 inches/81 cm long. She is about the height of a 16 month old.

Now that V is feeling better, we decided to take her out to lunch with our friend Marco. Marco and Deme ran a half marathon this weekend and they really deserved to be treated out.


As you can see the smiles are back and the clingness is gone. She is back to her jolly independent self and we could not be happier. I missed her for the five days she was not herself. She now plays, explores and gets into to same mischief she did before the fever.


Everyone says not to give kids strong acidic flavors like citrus but this girl loves lemons and limes.


Take it away from her and you will see the wrath of a mini-temper tantrum.

The Fever Has Broken and The No-Name Virus Has a Name

After 5 days of being ill, Veronica's fever broke last night and today she is almost back to her smiley self. This morning she woke up with no fever, we could not be happier. As the day progressed she developed a strange rash I have never seen before and we took her into to the pediatrician. We entered the clinic via the "special" back entrance as I thought maybe she had the measles or something just as contagious. In the end, we figured out what has been bothering my precious baby the past 5 days. Read more about Roseola here and here. See an image here.


You can see the rash forming on her forehead. It started on her temples and then spread to her neck, ears, back and trunk.

No Name Viruses Are Bad

Last Wednesday Veronica began running a little fever and we thought it was due to her teething. The fever continued and got higher without any other symptoms for two more days. I took her into the doctor and they pronounced her "okay". She was not dehydrated (although she vomited after I gave her baby Motrin, so I thought she might have an allergy to it), she did not have a bacterial infection in her ears, throat etc... Her breathing was fine too so they told me to watch her for another 48 hours and take her in if she did not get better and if the fever worsened. Her pediatrician told me there are a few summer viruses going around.

The past four days have been hellish. Veronica was hot, sweaty, irritable, whiny, clingy, annoyed and painfully, terribly uncomfortable. She refuses to sleep by herself. Previously she had been sleeping through the night 75% of the time. For the past 5 days and nights I have been taking all her naps with her and going to bed with her at about 9 pm. Her fever gives her nightmares and she often cries out in her sleep while tossing and turning.

While looking at her this morning during breakfast I cried. The child staring back at me with blank eyes, small frown and touch-me-the-wrong-way-and-I-will-fall-apart look just broke my heart. Normally Veronica is independent, she plays by herself and is not bothered when I leave the room. With this virus bugging her is cries all the time and wants to be held non-stop. I hope whatever she has passes soon, I really want my baby back.