Today we celebrated Dante’s first birthday, and I’m just a big ol’ mass of raw emotion. This has been at once the most difficult and most meaningful year of my life. I’ve been blessed with this beautiful little soul, and he just makes my heart soar. A small group of his loved ones joined us [...]

Aside from the fact that my son has made briliant strides over the past year, and is a gorgeous, healthy, pleasant little fella, here are some reasons that I will be celebrating his first birthday next week:
1) In the whole year, I didn’t drop him once
2) I didn’t forget him at home when I went [...]

After two months, I finally felt as if I had enough time and space to talk with Mr. Fix-It and check my emotional baggage at the door. I phoned him too late Friday night, a somewhat impulsive move after several days of volatile communications with my relatives. We talked Saturday, and planned to get together [...]

Here I stand, wielding an imaginary machete, and ready to tackle the overgrown jungle that is my life.
Whoosh! Cutting things out, left and right, including over-commitments, barely-there friends, and impossible family members. I’ve started the process in some dramatic ways, and instead of dulling my imaginary blade, it has sharpened it and enabled me to [...]

Dante got his share of admiration today, from loved ones and strangers alike. We attended two parties, and his charm won many over. A chorus of  “Aw”s followed him throughout the day, punctuated by exclamations like, “What a happy baby!” and, “He’s so advanced for his age!” All very true. But there is a dark [...]

In less than a month Dante will be one year old. I can’t believe that I have a walking, babbling, fish-stick-eating toddler. And I can’t believe I haven’t dropped him yet.
I’ve been thinking a lot about his birthday, and how I’d like to celebrate it. At first, I imagined a big ol’ baby fest, with all the [...]

Dante is walking now, as his primary mode of transportaion. Often, he runs.
He can say “bubble” now, though it still sounds like “bubb-oo”
He can sign “more” and he can sign “dog.”
He makes a high-pitched ‘meow’ when he sees a cat in a book.
His little hands can unscrew the cap to a tube of lotion.
He’s doing [...]

Saturday night was Dante’s monthly sleepover at Pop-Pop’s, and my social calendar was double-booked. First, the wedding of a family friend. He and I went to nursery school together, and when he was a toddler and I just an infant, he fed me my first pretzel (much to the dismay of my mother). His parents [...]

He suanters over to his large stuffed frog, sits down on the berber rug, and stares intently at his crotch while he pees like a racehorse.
I swear, it was just for a minute. I started changing Dante’s diaper, and realized that there were no more diapers within reach. I put him down on the floor [...]

Yes, my friends, Christmas has arrived, five months late, to the D’Angelo household. While there was no jolly man in a red suit, nor egg nog or holly, there was a large-ass check from the US government for my tax return. I will definitely have a place to live (with electricity!) for the next few [...]