Thank You Friends and Family

To my family and friends, i couldn't have made it through a year without you. I wanted to thank everyone for helping me and bri since katie has been born, there is no way we could have done this without the love and support from our family and friends. Lets start with first and foremost my FAMILY!!! Actually lets come back to them, but for anyone and everyone reading this, they are and have always been the most helpful in any time of day or night although if we are speaking about time of day, there are plenty of you out there that have gotten many late night phone calls from me frantically not knowing what to do! So lets move on to,

All my breastfeeding mammas... thank you so much to Jennifer especially for helping me through thick and thin when it comes to the ins and outs of breastfeeding. I couldn't have done it without your support that's for sure. Like my friend says, breastfeeding for a whole year has been the biggest thing I have ever done besides graduate from college, and it is so true it has been a huge sacrifice but worth every day. Mandy, your encouragement, humor, and strength and personal experience has made me stick to it also. Thanks.

My late night specialty, Kristen.... who is one of my new friends since being a mommy and poor girl, I bet she didn't know I was going to hang around when April30th happened. I assume she thought it was just another day at the office, but nope, on April 30th, she became a part of Bri and my life. She was our night nurse at the hospital from the first night we were there until the last day we left and luckily she gave me her information and we have kept in touch. From every time my sleep deprived bri followed you out of the hospital room without me knowing to ask if you would come home with us, to the lat night calls about katie not wanting to eat, or eating too much, from day one you have been a great support system and fountain of information. Thank you!

My new mommy Friends... everyone knows becoming a mommy creates a whole new way of thinking, and people tell ya that before you have a baby but no one really knows what its like until you hold that precious little baby on her birthday. No one understands what i went through besides other mommas. Now i knew a few mommas before katie but the ones i have met since she was born have been top notch! Lyndsay, you have gone through everything with me down to the week it seemed because our girls have done such similar things, and laughed and cried with me as we have gone through it. Liz, while you are no older than I am, you are an old soul, and having izzy a few weeks before me, has helped me look to you for exciting new things to look for in katie's life, as well as "humm... did izzy do this weird thing?" To, Jennifer, Meg, Erika, Kassia, Mirami, Kristen, Jen, Molly, and Ashley and all my other new mommy friends, whether i met you a typical way like through a mommy group sharing a common experience, or walked up to you in a store asking to be friends in desperation for some adult contact, you all have been my resources, my sanity, my saviors in some situations. Thank you!

To Aunt Kady, and Aunt Jennie... my two oldest and dearest friends and two people i couldn't have thought better to make katieie's godmommyies!. katie is so lucky to have you both in her life. you are both equally important in her life, and both for different reasons which i love! she has the best of both worlds when it comes to you two and i couldn't' be any happier with my decision. Bri and I truly love you both (and T and Jeff of course) and are so lucky you are in Katie's life!

To Katie... one of my only friends who was a mommy prior to having katie. while i did just meet you a few months into my pregnancy, i am so lucky that you lived just a few blocks from me and i believe fate brought us together because you have helped me through everything from my pregnancy, to my c section, dinners, and even late night phone calls when katie or bri are making me crazy! i hope when baby number two comes around for you, i am there for you the way you have been there for me. and to your baby boy jack, tell him he is first in line when katie turns 20 and i let her go on a date! HAHA

To Connie, well to Andy and connie but i'm talking about my friends for the time being. Connie, you have helped me stay grounded. I call you when i'm feeling crazy, and you tell me "yes u are being crazy!" and sort of slap me with some reality. I am so glad we have become such close friends and Katie loves you like she sees you every day! I am really going to miss you and your sweet boys when you move away. Great excuse for a road trip though! Thank You

To Corina, my cleaning lady.. well despite the obvious reasons that you have helped me keep my home looking decent for the past year, (thank god for you) but you have also become part of our family and katie adores you. she loves seeing you every week, and you are as much a friend as anyone else to her. We love you corina, and i have even left katie with you while running to the store, and for anyone who knows me they know that is a BIG deal! ( I don't leave Katie with anyone!!!)

To all my facebook friends... new mommies in particular,, i love posting things about katie and reading all the responses of friends with babies whose kids are doing the same thing, you have been just as much a part of my resources as any of my daily contacts. everything from a toy review to a baby recall announcement, thanks for all the info, input, and funny stories and videos of your kids. they make my day better !

To Danielle.. bri's boss, but more importantly a wonderful friend and mother who has helped us through this year with tons of advice and funny stories about her own kids that make me get through the hard days. I can't wait for you to see Katie again, she has changed so much since you last saw her! Thank You

To my extended family, Betsy, Becky, and Great Grandma Bea, Thanks for keeping up with Katie's life via email, blog, and facebook. I know you all have only gotten to meet Katie once, I know you as much as I feel like you know her so well because of our constant communication. To Aunt Eleanor and Uncle Edward, we will make a trip down south one of these days to introduce you to Katie, but Thank you for being a part of her life, even if from a distance. Thank you to all for the cards, wonderful letters, and gifts when a special occasion arise. Thank You

Now... most importantly my Family!
Uncle Bill, well, u gave her her favorite christmas gift out of everything she got this year for her first christmas and she still plays with it daily. i am so excited you will be around more to watch her grow up and so she can get to know you more. we love you and hope you can come over more to play!

Cici, Katie constantly surprises me when you come over. she has no hesitation and loves you so much despite you not living here all the time she always remembers you when you come walking through the door. I love your creativity, and hope all the fun things and games you invented for me and bill spur of the moment you will continue to do with katie (like bringing over the hat for you and katie to watch the royal wedding. only you would think of that) Thank you for listening to me cry, and scream, and get worked up, and giggle and laugh all about katie. Thank you for loving me even though I make mistakes when it comes to Katie, and thanks for being easy on me when I do and taking my feelings into consideration and knowing how sensitive and protective I am over Katie. I will lighten up sooner or later! Thank you for loving Katie and helping when you and dad are home. Katie really loves you and so do me and Bri. Thank you

Gramps, Thank you for listening to me when I have no one else to talk to. When Katie is making me crazy. I so enjoy our daily phone calls about what Katie is doing and I love that you read my blog and keep up with Katie's life. Thanks for taking that trip with me up to your moms house in CT and putting up with me Lysol-ing the seats on the train, and everything else for that matter. Thanks for putting up with my craziness about Katie and how protective I am with her. Thanks for carrying that car seat all the way to CT and back! Thanks for visiting as often as you have done this year since Katie has been born, she loves seeing you and the more she sees you the more she remembers the secret mannerisms you two have between each other. Thanks for watching the videos and looking at the photos I obsessively post of katie daily and thanks for laughing WITH me about how I may have a problem! Thanks for being a great Grandpa to Katie. Thank You.

Nana, Well, to start, we couldn't have gotten though the first 2 months after katie was born without you. I mean literally I don't know that we could have survived! You fixed us dinner daily and helped us do everything around the house. Thank you for making it so easy for us as we learned the ins and outs of parenthood. The early stages is no picnic thats for sure. Thank you for being patient with me; for helping me learn thing (or for letting me learn them on my own rather), and for watching from afar when I was crazy protective about Katie at the start and still am sometimes. Thanks for washing your hands a billion times when she was an infant. Thanks for watching katie as she has gotten older, babysitting is really starting to help out more and more now that i'm beginning to let go a little more. Thank you for all the gifts you have showered us with over the past year. We love each and every one of them even if i have a hard time showing it at the moment. Thank you for being a wonderful Nana to Katie and for being her for her every move this first year. Thank You

Poppie, you are a work horse if I ever saw one. You have been so helpful not only inside our house but especially outside! our yard looks impeccable, the gardens, the house, everything looks amazing. You are always good for a delicious tray of brownies or cookies and now that katie is starting to eat more people food I'm sure she will love having your expertise (along with Nana's) in the kitchen. Thank you for sunday dinners. Whether they are here or at your house, each and every one has a memory attached to it. You have been more than helpful to us and we thank you for all that you do. Thank You

I know i have forgotten some other people and I'm sorry, thank you to everyone of my friends. whether a little or big relationship to me and katie, you have impacted our lives somehow and we thank you for that! Cheers to a wonderful year full of life, love and laughter!