Meeting SDW ♥

My sister had a baby!   Sarah Dylan Wronsky was born on June 7, 2017.  She is beautiful and sweet and everything amazing.  Sarah joins big sister Rachel who is 3.5 years old and thrilled to have a sister.   In fact, Rachel thinks of Sarah as her baby. She is very possessive about her. 

Lori and Ben had Sarah's baby naming in early July and we had the best visit meeting Sarah and spending time with the family.  Now there is another reason to add to the list for wanting to move to Orlando. 

Meeting Rachel

 

My first attempt at meeting my new niece didn't go so well.  Sam and I flew to Orlando a good week after my sister's due date and she hadn't had the baby yet.  And despite being admitted to the hospital to be induced while Sam and I were still in town didn't produce the desired results either.  We flew back to NoVa on November 11th and Lori had the baby on the afternoon of the 13th. 

It was a long 5 weeks until I was back in Florida and could meet my niece.  We had skyped a bunch during the separation, but it wasn't the same.  Oh how I wanted to see her up close and get to hold her.  Finally, Saturday, December 21st arrived and it was time.  Rachel was worth the wait.  She is gorgeous!  Rachel is laid back, easy going and very content to let you hold her.  In fact, as long as she is in your arms, she is one happy little girl and stares at you endlessly, memorizing your face. 

To Lori and Ben's credit they are the not the typical first time parents.  They are very cool about Ian and Sam being near Rachel and will let her hold her without them holding their breath watching with worry.  I am impressed!

It was love at first sight for all of us.  Simply put, she is yummy.  You can't help but want to hold her and not put her down, like ever.  The kids and I can't get enough of her.  It is already hard for me to be living away from the family, it is going to be even harder being away from Rachel.  Babies grow and change so quickly.  I am going to have to make sure I have lots of trips to Orlando planned.

Lori and Ben planned the Baby Naming (Jewish ceremony where the baby is given their Hebrew name) for when we were going to be in town.  It was a beautiful party.

Lori and Ben gave the grandparents and Aunts a part in the ceremony.

Checking in with the new parents

We've been skyping with Lori and Rachel almost every day.  It is not the same as being there in person, but it is very cool getting to see the baby in real-time.  She is adorable and I can't stop taking pictures of us skyping.  There is definitely something wrong with me. 

 

This problem didn't start with Rachel.  Since my first child was born, I take thousands upon thousands of pictures each year. I've documented everything from Ian's first poop (it was so exciting!!), to checking on the kids at night and finding them looking very adorable sleeping, to snapping photos while Sam is in the middle of helluva temper tantrum and every thing in between.  I love taking photos of the ordinary as well as the momentous occasions and milestones. Each year I do a separate photobook for each of them that spans that age (A book of them being 1 year old, being 2 years old, being 3 years old, etc). These books are the best to flip through and really capture them throughout the year.  My kids have given up telling me to stop taking pictures they don't want me to take.  I've won! 

 

Time goes by too quickly.  The years fly from one to the next and everything quickly becomes a blur.  I need my photos to transport me back to the day and age they were and relive those moments.  Without photos I won't remember as clearly and I will be lost.  I will always have a camera charged and ready to go.  Lori and Ben have so far sent out only one picture.  I am hoping they've been taking more and just haven't shared them yet.  I keep telling Lori it goes by quickly.  I am in shock that I am a mom to an 8 year old and a 5 year old.  Fortunately I have plenty of pictures from years 0 thru 8 or I wouldn't believe it.

 

 

You can see my Toppall team squeezed into the Skype box in the upper left-hand corner.
Sam likes to be front and center.  :)

The baby is here! The baby is here!

I am beyond thrilled to introduce  RACHEL BELLA WRONSKY, my niece.  She finally arrived on Wednesday, November 13, 2013.  Her birth had a bit of drama (not only the very long, past the due date arrival, but also moments after delivery).  After an 1 1/2 hours of pushing, Lori wasn't getting anywhere with the delivery.  They ended up doing a C-section. Once out, Rachel wasn't breathing and had to be hooked up to a machine.  Thank G-d all is well now and Rachel is healthy.  Reports from the nurses at the hospital is that Rachel is incredibly strong, very feisty and a bit aggressive.  Ha!  She already sounds like the twin of someone else I know. 

Isn't this the coolest picture ever?
It almost makes me want to have another baby just to recreate this pose.

I am so excited for my sister and brother-in-law.  This is such a joyous time and an incredible blessing.  It is truly a miracle when the creation of a baby occurs and the process works. 

I told my sister to take lots of pictures.  The time goes by so fast and before you know it, you'll be looking down at an 8 and 5 year old.  I am counting down the days until I get to hold Rachel. 

The great baby watch of 2013

Mission: Unaccomplished.  :(

My sister was due on November 4, 2013.  I tried hard to keep every weekend in November free so that I could go down at a moment's notice and see my brand new niece.  As she approached her due date, her doctor said he wouldn't let her go past 41 weeks.  Too many events came our way that I committed ourselves to and only successfully kept the weekend of Nov. 9th free.  Once I saw how airfares were starting to creep up to the crazy numbers, I booked a ticket for Sam and me.  Surely, Lori will have given birth by then. 

As our time to depart to Orlando got closer, there were still no signs of the baby.  Sam and I continued with our trip and hoped for the best.  It is now officially 41 weeks, 2 days as I write this and still no baby has been born.  Sam and I returned to NoVa and will have to wait for the good news from home.  It is very disappointing to have missed the opportunity to hold my sister's baby moments/days after she was born.  My next opportunity will be during Winter break; a little more than 5 weeks from now.

While in Orlando, Sam and I made the most of our time.  We not only saw the family, but spent a morning with my friend Amanda and her family and spent a day at Hollywood Studios.  The weather each day was 82 degrees and sunny. Although, I don't mind the cold weather and was excited that it has finally gotten chilly back in Burke.

On Tuesday (yesterday), a few hours before it was time to head to the airport, we all met at the hospital and hung out with Lori one last time.  She was there because her doctor told her to come (at 1:00am!) to administer the cervidil, to get her cervix softened.  If by Thursday nothing has happened, they will take more aggressive steps to get the delivery going.   Geesh, at this point, she could still be pregnant when we come back in December. 

Having the 8 of us descend upon her hospital room (at the same exact moment) during times like this is when I love my family the most.  There is something about all of us coming together and being the loud, vibrant, gregarious bunch we are that makes me so happy I am one of them.  We know how to have a good time.  And we can pretty much find humor in just about anything.  My sister's room was on the 5th floor and had this beautiful ceiling to floor window that took up the entire wall.  Directly outside her window was an elevator used for construction work being done on the higher part of the building.  This elevator was going up and down about every 30 seconds filled with anywhere from 2 to 10 men.  My sister was told that they can't see in to her room, but its hard to believe when we could see them clearly and at times, it looked like they were staring right back at us.  It was pretty humorous.  Meanwhile, my dad is raiding the box of surgical gloves attached to the wall and we are cracking up that each set probably costs $100 when they submit it to insurance. 

Best family ever.

Construction elevator directly outside Lori's room. 
This is the 5th floor. :)

Hanging out and waiting.  Blowing up the gloves into balloons.

I'm disappointed I won't be there when the big moment finally happens.  I like to think that everything happens for a reason and this wasn't meant to be.

The great baby watch of 2013 continues.....

Oh Baby!

When I got married, I wanted everyone I knew to get married and experience this awesome kind of love.  Then when I had a baby, I wanted everyone I knew to have a baby and experience this amazing kind of love.

It is happening!  My sister Lori is due to give birth to a little girl on November 4th.  I could not wait to throw her a baby shower. What a great reason to have a party.  Lori's 4 close friends wanted to help and along with my other sister, Meghan (6 of us total!  Oh my!) we hosted a wonderful celebration for Lori and her condition.  :)  It was simply perfect.

We held the shower at an Italian restaurant in the Orlando area. The restaurant is normally closed for lunch on Saturday and Sundays, but they opened special for us.  Our group of women fit perfectly in their screened-in (air conditioned!) patio.  We chose a "Onesie" theme and carried it through everything you could imagine. The colors were pink and brown.  It was adorable, if I do say so myself.

Banner that said "Baby Wronsky"



Cake - looked just like the invitation.

We had a clothesline with onesies hanging.  A few of the onesies said: 
"Mom thinks she's In charge.  That's so cute."
"Watch out Daddy, Mommy has a new shopping buddy."
"My daddy can play the guitar better than yours."
"BYOB.  Party at my crib 2:00am"

We had paper in the shape of onesies to write advice to Lori
on having a baby.  We put it in a binder and presented it to her.

Place setting at the table.

The room all set-up.

All 6 of us who hosted.

Decorated cookie to give as favor to our guests.

The guest of honor entering the room.

Mom, Lori, me, Meghan, Rita.

Ben (future daddy) stops by at the end to say hello.

I loved how it turned out.  Lori did too!  I am anxiously awaiting the next 6 weeks when we get to meet the newest member of the family.