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To a new web address that is! Follow the Gumula family on our new page:
www.gumulafamily.blogspot.com.

BeBe's Visit

I got to spend all of last week with my mom. It was such a good visit! Not only was it nice to have an extra set of hands around the house but we got in lots of mother/daughter bonding. My relationship with my mother has really grown over the years. I love that I can not only call her my mom but that I can also call her my best friend. I wasn't the only one that enjoyed her company though. Mr. Connor loved that BeBe was here! Every morning when John or I would go in his bedroom to get him ready for school, he would state "No mama (or dada), BeBe!"

John and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary on Tuesday.  It was good timing with BeBe being here - free babysitter! John took me to a French restaurant in Winter Park called Chez Vincent. It was a beautiful evening so we sat outdoors. The food wasn't anything to write home about but our server was awesome and made it a memorable occasion. He even had a French accent!



John and I at our anniversary dinner

I haven't left the house much since I had Addison. Not that I haven't wanted to but let's just say I haven't had anything to do worthwhile. Addison is NOT a fan of her car seat. Yes...that also means her stroller! I wasn't as worried about it with BeBe here to help. We went everywhere, including our daily runs to Starbucks! LOL They were (coincidentally) running a special happy hour on Frappacino's last week - half off! Once we found that out it was hard to pass it up everyday :) We hit up the outlet mall one day and the Mall at Millenia another where we got Addison's 6 weeks pictures taken. We also made a day trip to Gainesville so that some of my family members could meet Addison. Connor stayed home with us on Friday which he thoroughly enjoyed. We even made John put his car seat in the van so he could take it for a ride and boy did he love it! I know I've mentioned it before but he thinks he can do everything right now. It's comical at times and this was one of them. He wanted to drive the van and was NOT a happy camper when he couldn't. Anyway, we just took a quick trip to Target (and Starbucks :p). Connor made out like a bandit. BeBe would have bought him the whole store if he had wanted it. He came home with lots of new cars though!

BeBe, Addison, Nana, Dominique and Chris

Nana with Addison...check out those cheeks!

We miss all of our company. We had a very busy 10 day stretch! We were a little concerned that Connor wouldn't understand once BeBe left on Saturday. We just thought he would be upset or ask for her the next morning. He surprised us once again with his maturity. He totally understood that BeBe (and Grandpa) had gone home. The next morning he was fine and back to his old routine. He knows he will get to see them everyone again soon! Click here to view a few more pictures from our trip to Gainesville.

Mother's Day Weekend

We had a great Mother's Day weekend. It sort of started on Thursday when Nancy came into town. Technically she got here Wednesday night but it was really late and Connor didn't see her until Thursday morning. He was so excited to see his Aunt Nan-knee. He still went to daycare that day but he stayed home with us on Friday. They had the best time together. Grandma and Papa arrived late Friday night, so when Connor woke up on Saturday he was surprised once again by his grandparents this time! They played hard all morning but around lunchtime we left them to go to Benjamin's 1st birthday party. We left Addison with her grandparents so we could have some special one on one time with Connor. Benjamin's party was so much fun. It was at a community pool and what a fantastic pool it was! It had a water slide (for the bigger kids), a wading pool for the little ones and a fun little play area. Connor thoroughly enjoyed himself and to top it off he got a cupcake! LOL He loves to sing Happy Birthday these days and more often than not he says it's my birthday. It was fun for it to be someones real birthday for a change :) It was nice to have our special time with Connor. He hasn't had the undivided attention of both of us since Addison arrived. I think Grandma enjoyed her special time with Addie as well. After the party we went back to the house. Connor greeted Grandma with a rose for Mother's Day.

Sunday morning my parents arrived and brought my brother Chris with them. John's brothers, Mark and Andrew, were able to join us as well. This is the first time since our wedding that both the Fisher's and the Gumula's were ALL together at the same time! I think that alone made this a very special Mother's Day. We enjoyed a nice lunch together before Andrew had to jet off to work. We just hung out the rest of the afternoon before everyone had to head back home. My dad and brother left without my mom though. Bebe had plans to stay with me for the rest of the week! Grandpa took John's truck back home to do some work on it and left the van here for us to use in the meantime. Connor had more fun than you can imagine playing in Bebe's van! I'll post more on our visit together later. Until then you can click here to see more pictures from our weekend.

Big Brother Love

Connor continues to express his love towards his sister. This weekend he actually tried to play with her. Up until now he has just wanted to hold her but Saturday he was entertaining her. Addison was sitting in her bouncer while I was making lunch in the kitchen. Connor came running through and when he noticed his sister awake he stopped and sat down next to her. He kept saying baby and smiling real big then tried to hold her hand! I ran and grabbed the camera and managed to capture some of the moment. Addie just stared back adoringly, it was precious.

Saturday was spent cleaning as we had another house showing that afternoon. We haven't had to deal with this since we had Addison but unfortunately it looks like we're in the market for another buyer. Nothing official yet as our house is still under contract but it doesn't look good. If anything it turned out to be a great excuse to get some house cleaning done!

Sunday started like most other Sundays - with pancakes! It's sort of become a tradition in our household. After deciding on pancakes Connor went running into the kitchen. I assumed to help Mommy make them but as I entered the kitchen he threw his hand up in the air and yelled, "No Mama, I got this!" LOL He is too much! He thinks he can do everything now. I just laughed and told him we would make them together and he was cool with that. He sat up on the counter top and helped pour in the ingredients and stir it all together.

We spent the rest of the day outdoors. Connor enjoyed his pool while we relaxed with Addie in the shade. Later we went to a friends house for a BBQ where Addison got to meet a lot of our friends. It really was a gorgeous day to be outside. I wish we had this weather all summer long. I'm not looking forward to the humidity. Before we went to our friends house we gave Addison a bath. Normally Connor is already in bed when we do this. Since we wasn't we asked if he wanted to help. He jumped at the opportunity! He ran to get the soap (he runs everywhere these days) and then wanted up on the counter to help. He mostly watched but he did wash her feet for us. He was so proud of himself when we were done.

This week Aunt Nancy is coming down from Chicago to visit. Connor is going to be so excited to have her in the house!He loves his Aunt Nan-knee :) We have a busy Mother's Day weekend planned. Nancy is just the first of our many visitors to come this weekend. We have a 1st birthday party to go to on Saturday and then Connor has a weekend full of family members. Both sets of grandparents will be here and all of his uncles too! Everyone will leave on Sunday except for my mom who will be spending the week with us. I can't wait, I've got big plans for Bebe - let's hope she is rested up and ready for a fun-filled week! :) Click here for a few more pictures from our weekend.

Easter Weekend

We started our Easter weekend on Friday at the First Presbyterian Church of Orlando's Easter Egg Hunt! The hunt was held at Cypress Grove Park. Connor joined his buddy Emma and had so much fun! He collected tons of eggs and had fun opening each of them as they all had fun little prizes inside! After the hunt the kids got to play on the playground and then we had a nice picnic lunch.

Saturday was a busy day. We started the day off at a marshmallow drop in Oveido. What exactly is a marshmallow drop? We didn't know what to expect either! The city of Oviedo Recreation and Parks department hosted their annual Marshmallow drop at the sports complex. It literally rains marshmallows as a helicopter hovers over the baseball fields, distributing more than 25,000 marshmallows. The kids could collect the marshmallows and redeem them for candy. We weren't too interested in the candy part but we knew Connor would love to see the helicopter so we went. It was a neat idea I suppose but I don't think we'll be making this a tradition of ours. Connor had fun but there were so many people and the helicopter doesn't exactly distribute the marshmallows evenly over the entire field but rather in just one spot so it was a little chaotic.

After the Marshmallow drop we went back to the house to welcome Bebe and Grandpa! They decided to make a quick trip to Orlando to see their grand babies for Easter. Connor had a ball! Connor played in his pool, we dyed Easter eggs and generally just enjoyed our visit together. Before going to bed that night Connor put out some carrots and a hard boiled egg he made for Easter bunny. When he woke up Sunday morning the carrots and egg were gone and next to the plate were Easter baskets for him and Addison! He seemed to get a kick out of that but really enjoyed everything the Easter bunny brought him. Among his favorites were the cars and M&M's :)

The rest of the day was very low key. I had started to not feel well on Saturday and by Sunday I had developed a fever and was super weak. Turns out I have a double dose of mastitis :( I think I'm finally on the mend but it was a few rough days and required a visit to the doctor for antibiotics. Thankfully I have the best husband in the whole world who has taken such good care of me (and the kids!) while I've been so miserable. Needless to say though I didn't get to do all the fun Easter things with Connor on Sunday. I'm so glad we went to the Easter Egg Hunt on Friday! Here is a link to a few additional pictures from our busy weekend.

On another note out little Addison is already 1 month old! I can hardly believe it. She is growing like a weed though and starting to develop a cute little personality. She makes the cutest noises and is even starting to smile! I'm trying to capture this on camera but it's hard because she usually does it when I'm holding her which makes it impossible to take.

Spring Arts Festival

 We went to the Maitland Spring Arts Festival on Sunday...our first outing all together! The festival was held at Lake Lily Park and it was a gorgeous day out - perfect for a day at the park! We first looked at all the various vendors then settled down for a picnic near the live music on the other side of the lake. Connor had fun dancing to the music :) After lunch we headed to the playground so Connor could burn some energy before we went home. He had a blast!! He has matured so much since the last time we were at this park. He wasn't afraid to do anything or approach anyone. He actually tried to talk to the older kids! I wasn't able to get any pictures though because I was holding Addison, but he was one little monkey out there!

 After the park Connor hung out with daddy in the garage. He loves to do anything and everything his daddy does. John had the air compressor out earlier to put air in the tires. Connor immediately wanted to do the same...but then wouldn't give it back! It's amazing how much he absorbs without us realizing it. He knew exactly what to do with it! I forget why exactly but John said to Connor, "Connor, I got it" to which Connor replied back "No dada, I got it." Too cute!!

Connor continues to want to hold his baby sister whenever he can. Not sure why we hadn't used the bobby pillow before but now Connor can hold her all on his own!

Click here for a few more pictures from our weekend. Have a great week!

2 Week Checkup

Addison had her 2 week checkup on Monday with our pediatrician and I'm happy to report that she is doing great so far! Typically they like to see that an infant has gained back their birth weight. She has done that and then some, weighing in at 7 lbs already!! She must have already hit her first growth spurt because in addition to weighing a pound more than she did at birth, she also grew an inch! Everything else looked good, though she does have a blocked tear duct in her left eye but that should heal up all on its own over time.

We're all doing good and adjusting well to life as a family of four. Connor continues to do well with his baby sister and will take every opportunity he can to hold her. Last weekend we hung out at the house (as I presume will be our weekend ritual for the next couple of months). Connor enjoyed his pool time but otherwise was a pretty laid back weekend. This weekend looks to be pretty quiet as well but we're looking forward to Easter weekend in a couple of weeks. I can't wait for Connor to go Easter egg hunting. I'm sure he'll enjoy all the festivities that coincide with it like dying the eggs. I promise I'll take lots of pictures! :)

We've been busy....

 

Addison Jayde Gumula made her debut on Saturday March 26th at 1:36 AM, weighing in at 6 lbs and was 19 inches long! Friday started like any other day but on the way to work I started having contractions. They were very irregular and not too painful so I didn't get too excited. I've had friends who have had contractions for weeks before labor, but I was hopeful! The contractions subsided by lunchtime but picked up again that evening. Again, they were pretty irregular but it got us thinking about our plan of action in the event this was the real thing. All along John and I had hoped I would go into labor in the morning during the week so that Connor would be taken care of (daycare). If it happened in the middle of the night we had a few options but not that night, two of our three options were out of town! We decided we needed to make sure our friend Tim could in fact come over on short notice. While we were talking about it John suggested I start timing the contractions, just to see where we were at. Turns out that while irregular duration and strength, the intervals were between 5 and 7 minutes apart! We decided better to be safe than sorry and got Tim to come over to watch Connor so that we could go to the hospital to get checked out.

While waiting for Tim the contractions started coming on stronger and quicker. Tim got to our house around 10:30 PM and we got to the hospital around 11 PM. They checked me and told me I was 4 cm dilated and 80% effaced. My doctor wanted me to walk around for 2 hours but said to come back if I couldn't bear it any longer. I thought to myself, 2 hours? Are you kidding me? Ok.....let's go walking....

After 20 minutes of walking I couldn't stand the pain any longer. I thought I was going to be sick so we went back inside. They checked me again and I was 8 cm dilated!  They quickly wheeled me into a delivery room and the anesthesiologist came in. The contractions were so much more painful than I remember them being when I had Connor. I was torn with the decision to get an epidural or not.First I said yes (while having a contraction, lol), then I said no....but finally decided I needed one :) She told me I probably wouldn't have enough time for it to fully kick in as it takes 45 minutes but I said go for it anyway...that I wouldn't mind having it for the after birth (stitching, etc). They gave it to me and it definitely helped alleviate the pain of the contractions. I could still feel everything which was perfect, the idea of not being able to feel my legs or know if I need to push freaked me out a little bit.

Very soon afterwards the doctor came in to break my water. Almost immediately after I felt the urge to push. I pushed through 3 contractions and out came our little princess. She hardly cried at all and has been the sweetest little angel ever since. She hardly lost any weight in the hospital, only getting down to 5 lbs 12 oz. They did have to keep us in the hospital for 48 hours to give her an antibiotic IV, but it was all for precautionary purposes. I tested positive for group B strep and because my labor was too fast, the IV they normally give to prevent infection during delivery wasn't in long enough. We took her to her pediatrician last Tuesday and she was already at 5 lbs 15 oz. We go back next week for her 2 week check up and I can't wait to see how much she has grown since then.

Connor has been doing great with her so far! The first thing he says when he gets home or wakes up is baby...he wants to see his baby sister. And he loves to hold her! His face beams so proudly whenever he gets to, it's just the cutest thing ever. He also loved having both his grandparents here that weekend taking care of him while we were in the hospital. Last weekend my parents came back to visit for the day and since then we've had a few other visitors, including uncle Andrew last night. We are so grateful for all of our family and friends that were able to help us and whom continue to help us as the days go by. We're quickly adjusting to life as a family of 4 though....6 if you count the doggies! Click here to view some pictures from Addison's first week with us - enjoy!!!

Pool Time

 

We had beautiful weather this weekend and spent as much time as we could outdoors. Connor's favorite? The kiddie pool! He had the best time. He must have gone down the slide 100 times, over and over and over....enjoy a short video clip!

2 Year Checkup

Connor had his 2 year checkup last week. He has officially upgraded to the 'big boy' scale and now gets measured standing up. Which comes as a huge relief to us as Connor hated stripping down to sit on the scale and getting stretched out on the table to get measured. His new stats are as follows:

Height:  33 inches (25th percentile)
Weight:  27 lbs (50th percentile)

They also started taking his blood pressure (102/57) and calculating his BMI. He's doing great, the doctor was pleased with his development thus far. Considering the amount of words he knows and strings together he is doing very well in the language department. He is growing right along the curve so he is not worried about his growth. The doctor also indicated his height (or lack thereof :p) is no indicator to how tall he will be when he grows up. He says it all depends on when he hits his growth spurt, and apparently the later the better...or taller I should say. We can move off of whole milk now and he can drink whatever we drink (1%).

Every stage becomes our new favorite, and turning 2 is no different! Connor's personality is really starting to blossom and he seems to take less time to 'warm up' to people now. The only downfall would be his occasional tantrum but they never last long as he is easily distracted. We've decided to wait on toilet training until after Addison arrives and we've all had time to acclimate to life as a family of 4. That said...she could be here any day now! Connor picked out a present to give her when she arrives. He seems to be excited about his sister coming. We got out all the baby gear (swing, bouncer, etc) so that he could play with it all and get it out of his system before she needs them. To our surprise, he has had no interest in any of it. Perhaps this will go smoother than I think? I'm sure Connor is going to be a great big brother :)

St. Patty's Day Parade

 

On Sunday Winter Park had their 32nd Annual St. Patrick's Day parade down Park Ave. It is the only St. Patty's parade in Central Florida. It's a fun excuse to wear green and get your friends together for some fun Irish festivities. St. Timothy (aka Tim) had his 2nd Annual Leprechaun Gathering. Tim really knows how to put together a fun Irish party and makes the best Irish fixins – Corned Beef and Cabbage! We had the best time.

After our Irish lunch we headed to Park Ave to watch the parade. Connor managed to stay awake this year (yep, no nap). You may or may not remember but last year he slept through the first half of the parade, through the sirens and all! After the parade we stayed on Park Ave to enjoy some ice cream and the run around the park a little while. This sounds bad but Connor had so much fun playing on the rail road tracks! The weather couldn't have been better either. It was forecasted to rain all day but we never saw a drop.

Here are more pictures from the parade!

Wedding

Last Saturday we made a day trip to Tampa for a wedding. We've been looking forward to this for awhile now, not just to see (and meet) a lot of family, but we also couldn't wait to see Connor in his cute little wedding outfit! Because I am getting close to my due date, we didn't know for sure if we could even go until a couple of days before hand. I had my doctor's visit, everything looked good, so we got the go ahead to make the trip. 

Some of my closest friends that live in Tampa, and a couple from Orlando, got together and threw me a little shower/luncheon earlier in the day. We met at Wine Exchange, a cute restaurant in Hyde Park. I had the best salmon entree! Thanks to all my friends for putting that together. Not only were they super generous but it was so good to see everyone again. 

After lunch we headed to the wedding. Connor looked so darn cute I just wanted to eat him up. Not sure what it was about the wedding but he was completely out of his element. He was Mr. Outgoing and had so much fun running around, jumping all over the place. He had a blast! The wedding was beautiful, held at the Davis Island Garden Club. After the ceremony when they announced the wedding party, Connor joined in on queue and clapped each time a couple was announced. Cutest thing ever. 

Connor also got a few more birthday presents, from his Aunt Nancy, Dzaidzia and Busia. He is officially a pro at opening gifts and ripped into those first thing Sunday morning. I think this is the end of it though, which he might not like as he's been celebrating his 2nd birthday for about a month now!

Here is a link to some additonal wedding pictures.  

Connor's Birthday

Last weekend my parents came down to Orlando. I've been having some car problems so my daddy came to my rescue. They were supposed to come this weekend for Connor's birthday party but my car issues required immediate attention. I'm so thankful in times like these that my dad is a mechanic...and that they only live 2 hours away. I was a little bummed that they weren't going to be able to make it back down this weekend for Connor's birthday party, but we made the most of it. We made him a special birthday cake so that he could celebrate with Bebe and Grandpa. I don't think Connor minded :) He got to practice saying "two" and blowing out his candles.   



How old are you Connor?

This weekend John's parents came for Connor's party. We started our weekend by going out to breakfast Saturday morning. Connor loves to eat out for breakfast. He's typically a good eater but breakfast foods are definitely his favorite. He wowed our server with how much he packed away. I think she thought he was storing some of his pancakes in his cheeks for later. After breakfast John and I started to get things ready for his party so he got to play with Grandma and Papa. Playing would be an understatement. He rode his new tricycle that he got from them all around the neighborhood. He played with his cars and puzzles. He was wearing himself out! Which is what we wanted....we thought anyway. The idea was for him to wear himself out so that he would nap before his party which was scheduled for 2 pm. Unfortunately, the nap never happened. 2 o'clock rolled around and Connor started to get fussy. He whined on the way to the park and then got super clingy once we got there. Grandma picked him up and not 5 minutes later he was sound asleep. Yep, Connor slept through most of his party. I think all the kids still had fun. We waited for him to wake up to have cupcakes, but Connor wanted nothing to do with them. We didn't even get to sing Happy Birthday, LOL. He eventually had one...and a half...but not till later when he had woken up a bit more. Oh well, maybe next year :)

Ready to open presents!

Yesterday Connor (finally) got to open his birthday presents. He didn't get around to them on Saturday because once we left the party we went to an early dinner with John's family before his parents had to leave town. He got all kinds of fun things! He had lots of fun ripping off the paper and made sure he got every last piece off. He can be very particular sometimes :)

Our money pit continues to strike so Daddy was busy yesterday with another home improvement project. Seems the back wall of the house is rotten. We're trying to get things like that taken care of before our home inspection...whenever that may be. Connor wanted nothing more than to be out there helping. I was thankful for his birthday gifts to help distract him. He spent a majority of the day playing with his new toys or outside on his new tricycle. Connor even helped Mommy wash her car, which I completely regret doing today. Lesson learned....I do not recommend washing your car when you are almost 9 months pregnant. That along with a very busy weekend makes for one sore back. And no....John had no idea I was washing my car.

We're looking forward to Connor's real birthday on Wednesday. I still can't believe my baby will be 2. His 2 year check-up is scheduled for next week. I'll be sure to let you all know how much he's grown!    

Here is the link to view pictures from Bebe and Grandpa's visit last weekend, Connor's birthday party and a few other pictures from our weekend. Enjoy!

♥ Happy Valentine's Day! ♥

We took Connor to SeaWorld again on Saturday. Our friends John, Kristyn and Kaden joined us as well. So far we have managed to see and do different things each time we go. This trip Connor got to touch the sting rays, visit the Shark Encounter, watch the Dolphin show and ride his very first ride - the Sea Carousel! He had so much fun on the ride and didn't want to get off. So we rode it twice back to back :) The dolphins were especially playful which was really fun to watch. Perhaps it was the cooler weather that made them so frisky?

On Sunday I took Connor with me to Park Avenue to enjoy a free Valentine concert. John was busy at home with the yard but I couldn't resist getting out on such a beautiful day. The weather was perfect for the event. It was big band music...jazzy. I went to meet up with my friends Tim and Erin and Connor actually slept through the first part of it. People were spread out everywhere on their blankets and chairs, drinking wine and snacking on cheese. There were even a few daring couples who stood up to dance. We weren't there long but had fun.

Connor received a special Valentine in the mail from Emma on Friday. It was a cute photo magnet with a picture of little miss cutey. Connor took much pride in putting it up on the fridge...at his level, and when he walks by he likes to say Emma and give her a kiss. It's so cute!! He also got Valentine's from Bebe & Grandpa, Grandma & Papa, and Busia & Dziadzia which he put up next to Emma.

This morning I woke up to roses and special Valentine's from my boys. Connor was so proud of the heart shaped Valentine he made for Mommy, you should have seen his face beaming with a smile...melted my heart.

Click here to see additional pictures from our weekend.

♥ Happy Valentine's Day ♥