Brynn Reese | Cuddlebugs

Cassy Fiano

Hi everyone! My name is Cassy Fiano. I was born in Jacksonville, Florida. My husband and I met when we were twelve, at a birthday party where he fell on the pool deck and broke one of his front teeth. I worked in several different fields until I got married. My husband and I knew that we wanted to have a family and that when we did, I would be a stay-at-home mommy. Last July, we found out I was pregnant, and on the day of my first doctor’s appointment, he deployed to Afghanistan. Unfortunately, during my pregnancy, I ended up with preeclampsia. Luckily, my husband returned the morning of my scheduled induction, so the day he came home from Afghanistan was the day we went to the hospital. 16 hours and a c-section later, we had our beautiful little boy, Benjamin. Being a parent has changed my life. I’ve learned to be more patient; that it’s possible to operate on two hours of sleep, and I’ve also learned that I never really knew what stress was until I experienced a baby crying inconsolably for four hours straight. I’ve learned that looking at my son sleeping in my arms can move me to tears, that I never really loved anyone the way I love my him, and that all of the hard times can be completely wiped away with one little smile. The last four months have been an incredible journey, and I can’t wait to share the rest of it with you!

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I grew up in here in North Carolina and attended Duke for my undergraduate and UNC-Chapel Hill for my master’s degrees. I moved up north to Boston after completing school and worked there for five years as an inner-city middle and high school history teacher. While in Boston, I met my husband, Chad, who was there for school, and we were married the summer of 2004. 2007 was a big year for us – we welcomed our son, Nathan, Chad finished school, and we moved to Jacksonville for a great job opportunity for Chad. Nineteen months after Nathan was born, our daughter, Emily, joined our family. Twenty-two months later, Joshua came along. I’m now a stay-at-home mom to my little brood, having “retired” from teaching after Nathan’s arrival. When I’m not busy feeding, cleaning, dressing, and keeping up with Nathan, Emily, Joshua, and their dad, I enjoy reading, quilting, and going to the beach. I also still cheer for my beloved Blue Devils whenever the opportunity arises and thoroughly enjoyed last season’s national championship. Go Duke! Life can be a little busy around here (hello – three kids under the age of four!), but I’m looking forward to sharing life with three active little ones with you.

One More Eater

February 18th, 2012 Brynn Reese

Joshua is an eater. He frequently out-eats his older brother and sister. He’s even out-eaten Chad and I recently. Seriously. And while this may be cute and great for funny anecdotes, it’s starting to cause problems around our house.

What kinds …
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To Birthday Party Or Not

February 14th, 2012 Brynn Reese

Last month, Nathan celebrated his fifth birthday. The day of his birthday was a fairly low-key affair. We stayed home for most of the day, Chad came home for lunch, and then we met Grandma and …
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Emily and Kindergarten

February 10th, 2012 Brynn Reese

We’ve got a major quandary on our hands, and I’m looking to you, fellow Cuddlebugs readers, for some help. Emily’s birthday is September 3rd, and the cutoff date for starting kindergarten in Onslow County is August 31st. She misses the …
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Exploring Jacksonville

February 8th, 2012 Brynn Reese

One recent weekend, we took advantage of some glorious weather to go exploring. This winter has been amazing for wonderful weather. Thank you, North Carolina.

Anyway, we decided to go explore one of the parks the area has to offer. We …
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Bye Bye Bapi

February 6th, 2012 Brynn Reese

The kid is cute, the bapi not so much
This past week, we finally got brave and started taking away Joshua’s pacifier, or bapi as he calls it. He had previously avoided having it taken away …
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Happy Birthday Nathan!

February 4th, 2012 Brynn Reese

Trying out his new bike

Last week, the day Grandma and Grandpa arrived in fact, Nathan celebrated his fifth birthday! To say he was excited would be quite the understatement. He is, after all, five.

The day was …
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