My amazingly talented husband made a video montage of some of the sweetest and most memorable moments in our son Mylo’s first year of life.
Sabrina Needs Our Help
August 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Sabrina, rescued from death row at NYC Animal Care & Control last month, almost died today. She is bleeding into her abdomen and is currently at Garden State Veterinary Clinic undergoing tests. We almost put her down but GSVC (the same vet that treated Patrick the Miracle pup) generously set up a payment plan with her foster so that the bill can be paid off in installments.
Please help us save Sabrina’s young life one dollar at a time by donating directly to her care at GSVC: 732.922.0011 or by clicking here. Thank you.
Happy Birthday, my love…
August 9, 2011 By 2 Comments
Yesterday morning I went for a four mile run over the Brooklyn Bridge. On the same morning last year at 40 weeks pregnant, I walked up a very steep hill in my hometown on Long Island. I’m confident that challenging walk is what helped start labor because in the middle of the night on my due date, contractions began. It would be an entire day later and then some, though, before our son Mylo entered the world. One year ago today.
I am a mixed bag of emotions. One moment it feels like yesterday and in the next moment it feels like he has always been in our lives. I feel so lucky and so honored to be a part of every Mylostone, every development and every day. So happy to be Mylo’s mom.
Happy Birthday my love, my baby boy, my buddy boy. I love you like crazy.
My Big Birthday Boy!
Mylostone – WALKING!
July 30, 2011 By 3 Comments
Shame on me for not finding the time to post my son Mylo’s most important Mylostone yet… walking.
On a Saturday afternoon in July, while Jason and I were both at home, Mylo took his first few steps, and then fell. It just so happened to be his 11 month birthday. It was a moment of great joy and immense pride and one that I won’t soon forget. And because we knew it was going to happen any day (he had been taking a step or two towards stationary objects for a couple of weeks), I was most elated that it happened when both his mommy AND daddy were home to witness it, and praise him.
Walking – week 1
Walking – week 2
Mylostone – First Beach & First Trip to Montauk
July 10, 2011 By 1 Comment
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MyMy playing in the sand with baby James.
For two self-proclaimed beach bums, Jason and I sure took our sweet time introducing our son to the beach.
For the fifth consecutive year, we took our summer vacation in Montauk, a rugged and dreamy beach town on the eastern most tip of Long Island. It was a wonderful vacation and Mylo did surprisingly well sleeping almost-through-the-night in a hotel room in which his crib nearly touched the foot of our bed.
Hackin' around with the hotel ice bucket.
Each year we make the trip out east with the same group of friends. My best friend’s boyfriend, Jack, came along this year and I was grateful for that. Not just because I like to see how happy he makes my dear friend, but because ever since Mylo was a newborn, Jack has had an amazingly pacifying affect on him.
Jack with Mylo at 2 weeks.
Jack with Mylo at 11 months.
My favorite part of the trip was taking Mylo to Ditch Plains – the beach where we did our maternity photo shoot last year.
I will never forget this time in our lives...
Mylo was 8 months grown in my belly on the very same day last year that he was about to turn 11 months old this year.
...but this has been even more memorable.
A great Mylostone indeed… cannot wait until next year!
Mylostone – First Farm
July 5, 2011 By 1 Comment
This Mylostone is a particularly personal one for me. As a vegetarian, it meant a lot to me to be able to introduce my son Mylo to farm animals. I apologize ahead of time if what I’m about to write offends you, but since becoming a vegetarian, I’ve always wondered how parents take their children to farms to feed and admire the cows, chickens and goats to then turn around and feed those same animals to them for dinner. My own folks included.
I’ve always intended to write in more detail about our decision to raise our children vegetarian but have sadly not gotten around to that post, (and others for that matter). My husband Jason is only vegetarian 75% of the time, but I am immensely grateful that I have his full support in bringing up Mylo as one. As he said to my parents when we explained to them of our wishes, “How can you really argue with a lifestyle that is healthy, environmentally responsible and compassionate.”
So you could imagine my delight at seeing my son hand-feed this bully billy goat a carrot in my hometown of Northport, NY — at the same farm I grew up visiting no less!
Injured Pup from ACC
July 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
One June 14th I pulled a dog off of the euthanasia list at Manhattan Animal Care & Control who had a bum leg. She wasn’t going down for kennel cough (as most are), she was going to be killed for having a bum leg. She had $750 dollars in pledge money and a foster/possible forever home with a family in Connecticut.
Mary scared at the shelter.
She was A# (animal #) 899911. ‘The 911 was fitting,’ I thought. The dog, named Mary, generated by the shelter’s antiquated computer software, was transported to an emergency vet hospital in Connecticut. X-rays showed that her left front leg was broken and they referred her to a specialist.
When I heard the news, my heart sank. It immediately made me anxious because all I could see were all the dollars signs that my bare bones rescue group does not have, and at the same time it touched a soft spot in me reminding me of my own dog and what we had been through with her broken legs.
I was fortunate to be able to send the dog to Animal Medical Center in Yonkers where she underwent surgery to repair her humeral fracture. I was even more fortunate to piggyback off of a bigger, more powerful NYC rescue organization’s 50% discount. A surgery that normally costs $4,500 cost us half that.
Mary, now called Angel, is recovering well at her new home and has grown particularly close to the family’s three teenage children. She sleeps with the youngest under a pink blanket every night.
Angel safe and loved.
A ChipIn for Angel has been set up as we are still more than $500 away from being able to pay off her surgery bill. If you are able to ChipIn to help Mary, please click here.
Mylostone – Waving
July 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Of all the milestones, or Mylostones, that my son Mylo has had in his short 11 months on this planet, this is perhaps my favorite. A couple of days ago I was waiting at the light with one of our foster dogs as my husband Jason was standing across the street holding Mylo. Jason began waving hello to me and pointing to Mylo that I was across the street, and then his hand went up. He waved. That was the first time.
And now I tell him “bye-bye” all the time even if I’m not in fact leaving just so I can watch him wave. It is adoringly communicative and it cuts right to my heart.
Turns out it’s not so easy to snap a photo of him in the act with my iPhone, but I swear he is waving good-bye to me here. And unfortunately, in this photo, I was leaving 
Waving bye-bye with Sidi!
An Almost Mylostone
June 26, 2011 By 1 Comment
My son Mylo is close to his biggest Mylostone yet… walking. My husband Jason says, it best, “the steering is a bit off, but the engine seems to work.” Watch the boy go…
I Rescued A Pigeon Today
June 14, 2011 By 4 Comments
Yep. You heard me. As if the four dogs on the euthanasia list that I pulled out of the pound and sent to forever homes down south weren’t enough (I just made that sound innocuous and easy but it isn’t).
Back to the pigeon.
I was on my way to a meeting down in DUMBO (down under the Manhattan Bridge overpass, for those who don’t know), when I passed a small pigeon who was hopping and chirping along. I noticed he looked a little raggedy. I happened towards him but he didn’t fly away. His wings looked clipped and he was missing at least a third of his feathers.
My hands were tied. I couldn’t exactly pick him up and bring him to the meeting with me, so I snapped this photo and walked away.
This busted up little fella broke my heart.
Later, I told a friend about the bird and she said, “let’s go get him.” She gave me the green light I needed to do the right thing. (Thanks Mary).
We went back to the spot with an over-sized cardboard box and surgical gloves and the little guy was still there. Only this time he had company. His buddy (or mama pigeon) was hovering real close and trying to protect him from us.
I’ve always loved that birds travel in two’s and so I hated having to split them up. But I hated even more the thought of some jerk coming by and kicking him out of the way, or that an SUV might run him over. So I scooped him up, made my case for a free hotdog bun from the non-English speaking hotdog-cart-lady, finished up at another meeting and then schlepped the big cardboard box with said small pigeon on the subway during rush hour to a vet hospital on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
Thanks to PJ of Empty Cages Collective, he will be examined by Dr. Pilny tomorrow morning.
Over the past few days I’ve received very generous donations for the dogs I’ve pulled out of the shelter and so I did the same for PJ’s rescue group. In this case, what goes around comes around and hopefully flies around, again.
