After the novel that was my last post, this one will be a wee bit shorter than the last. Also, Victoria’s first year was the year of Covid, so how much is there to write about anyway? I jest; in spite of Covid, we managed to share a wonderful first year together. We had our own little bubble of people we saw regularly, who helped keep us sane. In addition, we took a few little jaunts here and there, both for our sanity and to get Victoria used to going places. In the last post about Victoria, I shared about her first major road trip and all of the fun we had in Florida meeting family. After we got back, we attempted to find some sort of rhythm and routine.
Around three months, Victoria began voluntarily smiling and giggling. Those who have had babies or have been around infants know, this phase changes everything. Those smiles and giggles transform that tiny, blankly staring, wriggling bundle of flesh into a little person with a personality. Not that he didn’t love her beforehand, but this new development seriously bonded Frank and Victoria. From then on, he’s been wrapped around her little finger!
Meeting Extended Family
Slowly but surely, we started introducing Victoria to extended family members. Great-grandmas had anxiously longed to finally hold her and meet her, and on occasion we made time to get together with them to make those memories. We had to take our time and space out any gatherings with people. Naturally, we really didn’t want to get ourselves or Victoria sick. So, we would gather with our little bubble and have fires at Grandma and Grandpa’s, and slowly watch Victoria’s personality develop. As a general rule, she typically enjoyed being around people, getting lots of attention, and was just so content. It took many months before she got to meet most people, but that was 2020 for you.
General Daily Life
In late May, we received a super fun present in the mail for her-a Fisher Price 4-in-1 Step ‘n Play Piano! My brother later dubbed it “the DJ booth.” Victoria LOVED this gift, as did we. We loved it because it gave us a place to set her down so chores and whatnot could get done. She loved it because there was so much to do and discover on it every day! She banged on the piano keys, laughed and talked to herself in its little mirror, hit the tambourine part against the wall, and worked on gross and fine motor skills with other activities on it. For naps, she loved sleeping in her swing or snuggling on laps.
As far as feeding her went, that quickly became the bane of my existence, but it was always worth it. Given her NICU stay, she and I could not find a rhythm for nursing. Yet, since I chose not to work and decided against formula, I pumped 5-6x per day to provide her milk. It was almost as if she had been able to nurse in the first place. While it did take over my life and dictate every schedule, I am still thankful that I could provide for her in that way.
Let’s Get Philosophical
Many other scholars, poets, and better writers than me have written thousands of beautiful words on the phrase, “This is my body, given up for you,” and how mothers do that for their children. Though at the time, I complained far more than I should have, I still thank God all the time for the ability to give so much of my time, energy, and comfort to feed her, change her, and be with her every day. Becoming parents taught Frank and I so much about how to be more selfless, compassionate, attentive, and considerate of one another and others. As quickly as she has grown, we have grown with her. Grown more in love, in wonder, in admiration, in laughter, and more joyful. Victoria is literally the funniest person we know! I could go on and on, but I promised a more concise post this week, so I will leave it at that and move on to adventures!
Henry Ford and Chicago
Grandma and Gramps came up from Florida to visit us for the 4th of July weekend. We spent a great deal of quality time together, and they got as many cuddles and snuggles as they could. They also gifted us memberships to the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit (BL ✅), where we had an absolute blast! The sheer volume of artifacts, activities, and technological moments in history contained in this museum and accompanying Village, is truly indescribable. Henry Ford knew that future generations would find the evolution of technology fascinating, and this museum holds so. many. things. These historic exhibits include humongous early farming and drilling equipment, the Rosa Parks bus, a full 1941 Allegheny steam locomotive, a replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer, and so many others. It would take quite a few visits to this incredible museum to discover everything it has to offer!
Not long after my parents left, Frank, Victoria, and I took a quick jaunt over to Chicago. We longed to share one of our favorite cities with our little girl! More importantly, we explained our real purpose for the visit to a lovely man who struck up a conversation with us on a train. When we shared that we were just visiting, he asked, “You visiting family?” I quipped, “We’re visiting food! We came back just to eat some of our favorite foods again.” He understood completely. We stayed in an adorable boutique hotel called The Talbott, which took great care of us and had tons of safety measures in place. While we visited town, we frequently had more tea at Tea Gschwendner, walked around Downtown, and took Victoria to the Bean. We seriously can never get enough of this amazing city!
Back to Business
After we got back from Chicago, life slowed down for a little while. We spent most days just watching Victoria grow up before our eyes. Life both stood still and raced by, in the most confusing of paradoxes. Most days blended into each other, and only were broken up by unexpected events like a baby shower, or a random visit from a best friend! In addition, we blinked, and she began eating solids and learning to crawl. I also find this was one of Victoria’s cutest phases; she LOVED the camera, and phones, and technology in general. Though a first child can make life rather chaotic, we found so much peace in these few months of intimate quality time together.
Back and Forth to Florida
Victoria changed so very much in such a short period of time. Seriously, the rate of growth and development during the early months boggles the mind! Thus, at the beginning of September, we chose to have another week in Cocoa Beach so my parents could see her again. Again, we spent lots of quality time with my family and with other friends who wanted to meet her. Most importantly, however, Victoria got to meet her only living great-grandfather, my grandfather Walter. Seeing them together touched my heart and warmed my soul! On this trip, Victoria went back to the beach and went on her first boat ride! Everything felt so brand new, as she was older now and basically a whole new person.
September, as a whole, proved a WILD month for us. We had the extreme honor of becoming godparents to Nick and Jessica’s second-born, Benedict. Our sequence of events was crazy, though. We had our early Sept. Cocoa Beach vacation and drove back to Ohio. Maybe a week later, we took Victoria on her first flight down to southwest Florida to attend Benedict’s baptism. That whole weekend would be a blur, if not for super fun and beautiful pictures!
FALLing in Love with Victoria
As fall came around, we grew excited to share the best of a Midwest autumn with Victoria. We took her apple picking and baked another couple pies from scratch! She looooved playing with all of the apples when they were all washed and spread on the kitchen’s island. Later, in mid-October, my brother came up to visit us to see the fall foliage and to celebrate Frank’s birthday! We had a fantastic time with him as well, cooking and eating yummy food together, picking pumpkins in a local pumpkin patch, and especially our photo shoot at Wildwood Metropark! A few weeks passed, and our little munchkin celebrated her first Halloween as a mouse. October was so fun 
In early November, we had an uncharacteristically warm day, and our little family and Brittany went over to a nearby park for another little photo shoot. I predict that in the future, memories of that day will always trigger intense feelings of nostalgia and homesickness. We had the loveliest time together! The perfect weather, laughing together, and the pictures taken captured the tremendous love and affection we have for one another. And, of course, the impossible cuteness of our sweet girl.
It’s the Holiday Season
We spent the first half of the holiday season up north, and the second half down in Florida again. During “the most wonderful time of the year,” Victoria learned how to pull herself up and started cruising, loved watching the snowfall, and got to enjoy a scrumptious sampling of Thanksgiving dinner with us! She also had a blast getting into all kinds of mischief with Christmas decorations. That was soooo fun…and super cute, of course. December completely flew by, and before we knew it, Christmas arrived!
We went to Midnight Mass as a couple, while Victoria slept at Grandma and Grandpa’s. The next morning, we spent Christmas morning together as our own little family for Victoria’s first Christmas. Later on, we went over to Frank’s parents’ house for dinner and presents. Victoria seemed to have more fun with the wrapping paper than her actual gifts, but that’s babies for you! She appreciates them more now, as she has gotten older. The day took a distressing turn, however, when I received news that my grandfather in Florida had suffered a mild heart attack and was in the hospital. We had already planned on heading south to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s with my side of the family. Yet, with this news, we rushed out of Sylvania and headed down to the Tampa area. Traveling with a baby slowed us down some, but Victoria remained our little road trip champion!
Quality Time with Great-Grandpa
My grandpa had already been discharged from the hospital and was back home by the time we got there. He felt a little weak, but ultimately was mostly okay. Victoria and I stayed with my parents at my aunt’s place to spend some quality time with him, which I will always be thankful for. After a few days, we went back to Cocoa Beach with my mom to celebrate New Year’s. We dined on delicious crab legs and other seafood delicacies and had a quiet night in to watch the Ball drop. It was a mellow end to the madness of 2020, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way!
Next up: We detail how, in a wildly opposite way, we decided to turn our life upside down all over again in the first half of 2021!
