Maura and Joe’s Irish American Heritage Center Wedding

Maura and Joe had a stunning Irish American Heritage Center wedding. Ceremony in the gorgeous St. Juliana's Catholic church in Chicago. Pictures inside the church and heritage center.
http://www.kerensarai.com/wedding-photography/irish-american-heritage-center-wedding/

On a Schedule?

Well...not quite but I think we're getting there. Mateo is already 7 weeks old!! As of a week ago he finally started sleeping more consistently at night. My mom came over on a Thursday, rocked him to sleep and he slept for 4 1/2 hours straight! He's been doing that ever since! It is great to at least have some predictable moments with him. He now goes down every night around 8:30 and sleeps for 4-5 hours straight. After that...well...we're working on that but at least he's sleeping! Mateo is now cooing and gurgling and has started smiling more and more. It is so much fun seeing him awake and more alert.

They say when you become a mom, it is a lot like having your heart outside of your body. I totally think this is true. We had our first few times out without Mateo and while I had fun, all I could think about was getting back home to him. It's not a lack of trust, in fact my mom takes such good care of him, I don't even think he knows we left...it's mostly just me. I'm learning to take it a step at a time and not worry so much. We'll see how I do when I have my first wedding shoot this summer :)

A Smile!

Mateo gave me his first smile today. He smiles all the time in his sleep but today he just looked at me and smiled. It sure makes all those sleepless nights worth it when I see his adorable toothless grin.

Speaking of sleepless nights, it seems like everyone I've talked to lately has some amazing story about how their child slept through the night from the beginning. It's very discouraging to hear when Mateo gets up every 1.5 hours and 2.5 hours if I'm lucky! I just have to keep reminding myself that this will pass shortly. Every week that goes by I tell myself that is is one more week closer to more sleep! Who knows when that will be!!

Mateo is 1 Month!

My little guy is 1 month old today?! Can you believe it...and only the size of a teddy bear but a lot more work :)

The past 2 days he has started becoming more aware of his surroundings. In the morning I usually have the tv on while I'm breastfeeding him. Yesterday I put him down for a minute and I caught him turning his head around to view the tv! It happened again today...so I had to remove him from his spot...don't want to start bad habits this early :)

He also really likes staring at things with big contrasts...it is very cute to watch him be memorized with things.

Well...that's about all he does right now besides poop, spit up, sleep and eat. haha. I'm sure that will change quickly and I will wish that that was all he did.

When 2 become 3!!

After a good year of no blogging, I thought I would update you all on what is happening in our lives!

On March 27, 2011 at 10:27 P.M. Dave and I welcomed the newest addition to our family. Mateo Manuel Chookaszian, a gorgeous little boy :).

Labor pains started early on March 26th and lucky me was in labor for approximately 36 hours before he came. It was a crazy experience but one of the most wonderful by far!!

Some things I'm learning about being a NEW mommy!

1. People say you don't get sleep but you don't REALLY understand that until you go through it. It's kind of what I imagine Chinese water torture to be like...Just when you think baby is asleep...he wakes up crying!

2. Breastfeeding takes FOREVER! I always pictured breastfeeding to be this cute bonding time of about 15-30 mins tops. Well the first 2 weeks it felt like I would never be able to even shower with baby on me all the time. Fortunately, by week 4 it has proven to get better.

3. Moms are the best! I don't think I could have survived the first 2 weeks without my mom or Dave's mom. It has been wonderful to have my mom come over and take Mateo when I am exhausted or just need a shower. Dave's mom cleaned our apartment and did our laundry...that's the only reason we are wearing clean clothes :) Not to mention both of them have blessed us with their unbelievable cooking...I think I could have more babies just to have that! :)

4. Crying is okay...Yep, I heard so many other moms say that they just cried the first few weeks. Well I cried day 2 at the hospital when I couldn't get Mateo to calm down or stop crying. The first day at home was insane and not at all what you expect when you're day-dreaming about being a mom. I cried, and it's ok. I guess it just shows us even more how much we need others and especially God to get us through the tough times.

5. Diapers are only good if they contain everything! So far, we've had poop on our walls, sent 2 pillows to the dry cleaners, hoped and hoped for the day his umbilical cord would fall out because we ran out of clothes he could wear...and done at least 2 loads of laundry every day.

Being a mommy is hard but I know it will be all worth it when he finally gives me a smile or says "ma ma". I am so thankful for friends that already have kids...they are the best at giving advice. I've found older women sometimes forget how it FEELS and sometimes say insensitive things but the friends I have that have small kids really understand and are able to sympathize more :)

Well that's it for now...I'm sure I'll learn more and more as time goes on.

A Few of his Favorite Things

I finally have some time on my hands...so I decided I would start blogging again! Today, I am writing about some of Dave's favorite things!

1. Peanut butter and bananas!!! Dave eats these like it's nobody's business....sometimes it becomes a problem though because I won't kiss him if he has peanut butter breath!

2. YOGA X- Dave and I have been getting into Yoga! We do 1 1/2 hours of yoga a week! He loves it...I find it painful but it sure is good for ya!

3. Gourmet Popcorn....only the peanut butter kind of course. Thanks to his mom, the church fundraiser is always a huge success. Probably because she buys every bag ever made of this stuff. It's a good thing Dave likes to work out too!

4. Dave's favorite thing to do is read...and he LOVEs to read the Word. I think this makes him the best husband ever...especially when he teaches me something new about God!

5. JP's old Reeboks....Dave doesn't like to buy himself anything new. He just waits until his brothers are done using their shoes and takes them. I'm not sure if JP knows Dave took these...he may have swiped these when JP was in China... I don't think they're missed :)

6. NORTH FACE! Dave LOOOOOOVES North Face.... just ask him...I dare you! :) wink

Summer: Here Again....Gone Again...

Wow, it's been quite a summer! I've had a lot of UP time and a lot of DOWN time too...which is really gives me no excuse for not having updated the blog! Anyway, I thought I would take a minute or two to write about our summer adventures...particularly the trip Dave and I got to take to Venezuela. We spent two weeks there and traveled from Maracay to Merida, Merida to Barquisimeto/El Tocuyo, then back to Maracay and our final stop was Caracas. There are really too many stories to tell so I am going to do a picture countdown of our favorite moments in Maracay/San Juan.

5. In Venezuela they give you a straw with every drink, EVERY drink...even water bottles. Not a problem for me but Dave really hates straws. Now Dave is usually up for doing whatever is normal to the culture but this was one custom he did not embrace!

4. Being in a socialist country was quite interesting. It was interesting to see what the government was doing and to hear people's opinons about the situation. In general, we found that the wealthier people did not enjoy socialism as much as the poor...to put it nicely. This is a picture of the country's new slogan. "Long Live Venezuela, My dear country! Patriotism, Socialism or Death, We will Conquer".

3. Speaking of a socialist country...we had the great privilege to watch a military promotion ceremony. I got to take lots of pictures...now keep in mind this isn't something most normal tourists get to do! During their speeches they referred to the US as the "Imperial Yankees". Anyway, I'm sure they didn't know we were visiting from the US...which is why we got to take the following picture!!!

2. Spending time with the family was of course a top moment in our trip. Here is a picture of Dave and I with my Grandfather and cousins!

1. My ultimate favorite moment in Maracay was quite possibly when Dave ate an Amazonian hot sauce that was made of fire red ants without even knowing it!! We later examined the bottle and found ant legs that weren't fully liquified! Blah!