My Cute, Sweet Baby

Here is a picture of Cedric I took today outside, while our new neighbor's chocolate lab wouldn't stop barking at me. Nevertheless, who can resist that cute face. We are 3 weeks away from our trip to NY, I'm excited but nervous about traveling on a plane and with a baby. *shudder* It's a short visit, but it should be fun seeing how Cedric reacts to his NY family. Are you ready.....?

Daddy's Last Day!

Today is my daddy's last day at Fiserv...I will, of course, never remember my daddy working there but I do have this picture of me being there. I'm happy to know that my daddy will be a video game developer....all the kids will be hanging out at my house. ;) I'm so happy for my daddy....I can't wait to visit the new place. I love you, daddy and I wish you all the luck in your new, fun, dream job.

Isabel's First Birthday

Isabel on her way to a sugar-induced sleep.

Here is Isabel and Cedric at Isabel's first birthday party. She turned one year old today! The first time Cedric met Isabel she was 7 months old...time is flying. At Amanda's baby shower for Isabel, over a year ago, she was at the end of her pregnancy and I was at the beginning of mine. Cedric was very cute with Isabel...he was trying to put his arm around her. Cedric is already flirting with the girls...flashing the shy smile with the big, blue eyes. Below is a picture of Cedric and Isabel when they first met four and a half months ago. Look how different they were back then...so cute! :)

Ripple by Grateful Dead

If my words did glow with the gold of sunshine
And my tunes were played on the harp unstrung,
Would you hear my voice come thru the music,
Would you hold it near as it were your own?

Its a hand-me-down, the thoughts are broken,
Perhaps theyre better left unsung.
I dont know, dont really care
Let there be songs to fill the air.

Ripple in still water,
When there is no pebble tossed,
Nor wind to blow.

Reach out your hand if your cup be empty,
If your cup is full may it be again,
Let it be known there is a fountain,
That was not made by the hands of men.

There is a road, no simple highway,
Between the dawn and the dark of night,
And if you go no one may follow,
That path is for your steps alone.

Ripple in still water,
When there is no pebble tossed,
Nor wind to blow.

But if you fall you fall alone,
If you should stand then whos to guide you?
If I knew the way I would take you home.

La dee da da da, la da da da da, da da da, da da, da da da da da
La da da da, la da da, da da, la da da da, la da, da da.

Cedric is Growing and Growing

Cedric went to the doctor yesterday to have his four month check-up to see how big he is getting and to get his dreaded shots. Poor baby! :(

Cedric weighed 14 lbs. 2.4 oz, and he is in the 25th percentile for his weight. His height was 25 and a half inches, and he is in the 60th percentile. Basically, he is a tall and thin lad. The doctor's assistant was a little bit concerned, but not really, about his weight, but I'm not. I was the same way when I was a baby. Cedric is getting plenty of food, he's just an active little guy with a fast metabolism. :)

The doctor was amazed about how advanced he is...he jokingly said, "Are you sure you are a four month old?" I was demonstrating how Cedric not only bares weight on his legs but he takes steps while being held, too. Cedric was also laughing and having a good time until the doctor held him down to look in his ears. He felt so violated and betrayed...poor guy. Than he had to get a liquid immunization and four shots...all were very unpleasant for my baby. He got lots of hugs and kisses from mommy and daddy though.

He is sleeping now! Trying to recover from the medicine working its way through his body.

My Birthday, The North Pole, The Zoo, & The Springs...Oh My!

I celebrated my 35th birthday on Sunday, July29th with John, Cedric, my parents, my brother--Andy, and his girlfriend--Corinne over the weekend. We stayed at the Embassy Suites courtesy of my parents (oh so nice of them). We went up on Saturday to Colorado Springs and went to the North Pole. Of course, not the real one, but a little amusement park (mainly for small children) near Colorado Springs. Cedric rode two rides: A carousel with mommy (pic is of us beside the carousel) and a taxi car with daddy and grandma (see below). Afterwards, we went to a nice restaurant called Sunbird. It overlooks Colorado Springs, and I enjoyed a delicious lobster tail. Later on, we went swimming in the pool which we only caught on video not the camera. Cedric loved his first excursion in the pool!
Taxi ride with daddy and grandma


First Carousel Ride


Cedric with Uncle Andy and Aunt Corinne

An elf that reminds John of me


John and Santa

Cedric with grandma and grandpa


"Tina, you fat lard, come eat some ham!"


Us stuffing our faces over the weekend...okay, me stuffing my face!


On Sunday, my actual birthday, we went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs. I like the more woodsy feel over the Denver Zoo but both zoos have their pros and cons...not worth getting into. I loved the giraffe exhibit...you can feed them special crackers. We saw lots of other cute animals, too! We went to the gift shop where Cedric got some goodies including a stuffed animal orangutan from grandparents and a stuffed animal leopard from us. Afterwards, we went to Carrabba's for some great Italian food. One of our favorite places to eat!
Me feeding a giraffe a cracker


Me with my mom and Cedric...I'm half-way through my thirties! *shudder*


"Hey, daddy...did you know one of the definitions of primate is an archbishop or bishop ranking first among the bishops of a province or country, i.e. The Pope?"
"I'll make sure if I ever meet this O'Reilly guy I'll spit up on him!"hehehehe


Cute Meerkat sun bathing


I can relate to this giraffe and Cedric can relate to the baby.


We said goodbye to Andy and Corinne, and we hung out with my parents for a while in Old Colorado Springs near Manitou. John left Monday morning to go straight to work, and Cedric and I rode back with grandma and grandpa. It was a fun weekend and my parents paid for most of it...John and I agree we need to take them to a nice restaurant as a thank you.
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory with daddy and this giant bear..."Got to get me one of those!"


Overall, I had a very happy birthday. John bought me a professional massage at a spa place, Cedric bought me a cute teddy bear holding a baby bear, Andy and Corinne gave me two gift cards, and my parents paid for the weekend and a tree for our backyard. I would have to say though not to trump my gifts from family, but my best present of all was my sweet, baby...Cedric. :)
Cutest baby in the world! :)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Quick note: Do not read if you're still reading the book and don't want any spoilers...otherwise readers beware! You've be warned!

John, Cedric, and I went to Borders on a late evening on Friday night to enjoy the Harry Potter Ball that Borders was throwing. (It was okay!) We had to wait until midnight for the released of the last Harry Potter book. Very sad to see the series come to an end, but we are also very excited to read the conclusion of the story and life of Harry Potter. John and I both agreed Borders release party was very poorly run...complete chaos in my opinion. I'll save you the details...you can get the full story here: http://zablanc.blogspot.com/2007/07/harry-potter-7-wrapup-no-spoilers.html

Now on to the final chapter of the Harry Potter series. I love all the Harry Potter books including this one. Right away my heart was crushed when Hedwig died. Poor owl! Too bad Harry didn't think to let him out of his cage to meet up with him later, but I'm not the writer. :( Mad-Eye Moody also dies in the beginning of the book when they are trying to protect Harry and get him to a safe house. Hedwig died during this escape.

The second devastating incident that brought a tear to my eye was when Dobby died in Harry's arms after he just save him and his friends from mortal doom. :( Bellatrix killed not only Harry's godfather, Sirius, but now his small friend, Dobby as well. Thankfully that bitch gets it in the end.

Severus Snape ends up being a friend after all. I knew he was just too bad to be really bad...it was all a cover to protect himself from mortal harm from Voldemort. In his youth, he made the foolish mistake of becoming a Death Eater, and he regretted it. Dumbledore always knew that Snape was a good guy...it was just so hard to believe at times given his behavior. Sadly, he ends up dying at the hands of Voldemort...Snape is friend not foe!

Other losses: Fred Weasley was such a fun-loving an comical character along with his twin brother, George who will go through the rest of his life without his companion.
Colin Creevey: The little boy who liked to take pictures of Harry in book 2.
Lupin and Tonks: Very good friends of Harry and a newly wed couple who just welcomed a baby into the world a month before they died. Harry is the baby's godfather.

There were lots more losses, but those are the most known characters I can think of. The four above died towards the end of the book when a huge Wizard War went down between Hogwarts' teachers and students against Voldemort and the Death Eaters. The best loss of all was Voldemort...horrible person that he was!


Below are pictures of the characters I loved the most:

Rest in Peace, Dobby...I mourn your passing the most because you were a great friend to Harry and his friends, and you were so happy to be a free elf. Now you are free forever.

Rest in Peace, Hedwig...you were a cute owl who reminded me of my sweet baby Harmony.


Rest in Peace, Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore (although we already knew about Dumbledore's passing in book 6). Snape really was a good guy after all, and he cared about Harry.

Ratatouille

Cedric went to the AMC Highlands Ranch movie theatre yesterday with me and Grandma. He had his very first movie going experience, and he did great. He sat on Grandma's lap for the first 20 minutes watching intently than he sat on my lap with an occasionally bite to eat while he watched. He was making his cute cooing sounds at different points of the movie. At the end, he fell asleep. It was loud at times which worried me, but overall he did very well. Ratatouille was a very cute movie...Cedric and I loved it! :)

Harmony got p0wn3d!

Harmony got shaved yesterday, because she had lots of knots in her hair. I tried brushing her, but it wasn't working. She looks so tiny, but I'm sure it feels good in these hot temps. She's a naked baby!!!! :)

Take Me Out to the Ballgame...

Cedric's first ballgame and first NY Mets game. They played at Coors Field against the Rockies...they lost by 4 runs. Final score 6-2...sad!

Cedric is growing!

Cedric is growing so fast! At his two month appointment on May 18th, he was 11 lbs. 11 oz. and 23.5 inches...I'm sure he is over 12 lbs. now. His height is in the 75th percentile, and his weight is in the 50th percentile. Amazing!

Look how cute he is in his Mets' outfit! I can't believe my sweet, little baby is 11 weeks old today...I'm really going to go nuts when he starts school. Fast forward time: Me talking to John, "Ah, remember when he was just a little peanut now look at him."

Cedric is doing lots of cooing, laughing, and squealing. It's the cutest thing to see. I love him so much! :x

Our Trip to Vail, Colorado

From May 18-20, 2007, John, Cedric and I went to Vail with my parent's. They invited us as part of our anniversary present. We stayed at the Streamside Marriot Hotel. It was very nice! Cedric got to use his portable crib for the first time, and it was our first family trip away from home.


Cedric and I by Eagle Creek...talk about some rapids!

Snuggling with daddy. :-)

My First Mother's Day

On Sunday May 13th, I finally got to celebrate the holiday I've been waiting years to celebrate--Mother's Day! The morning started off with John giving me a card from Cedric, a card from the cats, and a book/card from himself. The book was the clever photographic genius of Bradley Trevor Greive called The Simple Truth About Love. How does he get those shots of the animals?---I'll never know. I also got a bear soap dispenser to go with my bathroom decor. The rest of my present would come later at the zoo.

Although, I would like to say that no matter what present I received I already got the best present of all...my baby boy, Cedric Shea.

I'm so in love with these two people next to me. I've said it before, and I'll say it again I'm so happy that I have my own family, and John and I did it together. I love him more and more each day for giving me the greatest gift I could ever imagine.

We went to the zoo with my parents to celebrate Mother's Day together. Afterwards, we went to Racine's for dinner and later on to Cold Stone for dessert.

John is going to take Cedric and I to Red Lobster on Wednesday to celebrate Mother's Day with just us. :-)

I thought it was cute seeing the goose family with their babies on Mother's Day. So adorable indeed!

Here is Cedric and me with my present from the zoo. A mommy and baby monkey clinging together just like Cedric and I do a lot. He loves to snuggle with his mommy as you can tell from the picture below.

Our Weekend with Pam

Pam came out to Colorado on Thursday, May 3rd to visit us and Cedric for the weekend. We went to Idaho Springs to eat at Beau Jo's Thursday night and for Friday we went to Park Meadows Mall to shop around and then eat at Cheesecake Factory....mmmmm, yum. Saturday was our baby massage class (officially, our last baby class) and then our DDR/Wii party...we had so much fun. John and I agree that was our best group of people for the DDR ever. Sunday morning John and I dropped Pam off at the airport, and we enjoy just hanging out together eating dinner and watching the Sopranos...getting very interesting. ; - )

Cedric's Firsts

Cedric had to go to the doctor on Monday, April 30th, because his umbilical cord stump was still attached. At 6 weeks of age it should have falling off, but it was hanging by a couple of threads. Of course the doctor barely touches it and it falls off. John and I have been messing with it trying to help it come off faster---no luck. Anyway, Cedric is stump free!

While he was at the doctor I had Cedric weighed, he is 10 lbs. 13 oz and 22 1/4 inches. He is getting so big!

Cedric had his official first bath on Tuesday, May 1st. The picture above is from that bath---how cute he is! :)

On Thursday, May 3rd, Cedric's Aunt Pammy came to visit him from New York. She's the first of the NY family to see him. Cedric can't wait to meet the rest of them. We our having lots of fun! I'll definitely will be posting pictures later of our fun. :)

My Sweet Baby

Cedric is getting so big! Here he is sleeping away looking as cute as ever. He's 5 weeks in this picture...I love his little face. Cedric has to deal with overwhelming kisses from mommy, but he loves it. :-)

Cedric's First Easter

Mommy & Daddy with baby Cedric

Cedric celebrated his 1st Easter yesterday, March 8, 2007. He was just one day shy of being a three week old. I can't believe how fast the time goes...It's hard to imagine that I was pregnant not too long ago and now I have a precious baby boy.

John, Cedric, and I went to my parent's house to celebrate Easter with my brothers. Cedric slept for most of it, but he got plenty of snuggles and lots of love from people passing him around. Grandma and Grandpa gave Cedric an Easter basket full of clothes and a couple of toys. He also had fun being a part of an Easter egg hunt...okay, mommy was the one finding the eggs for him. John brought over the Wii for entertainment and it was a fun addition to this gathering.

Cedric wearing a bunny outfit looking very cute as always.

Cedric with his Uncle Andy & Aunt Corinne with Ariel.

Cedric gets kisses from his three-year-old cousin, James while Angel looks on.

Cedric with his first Easter basket from Mommy & Daddy.