April... fun in the sun!

This April has been pretty nice weather-wise. So, the kids have been able to do a lot more playing outside in shorts & t-shirts and even swimsuits. Last weekend, we even pulled out a lot of the water toys for them to play with.

Rocco was the ring-leader... master of the water hose! He took it upon himself to fill up all the buckets, the water table, water plants, wash down furniture, clean the driveway, and spray Gabby and Giuliana from time to time. He also spent a lot of time pretending that he was a fireman, putting out fires over here, there and everywhere. Love the imagination of little boys! He must have had the water running from the hose for almost 4 or 5 hours.

Giuliana LOVED getting in all the various buckets of water and climbing in and out of the water table (just as her twin brothers did 3 years ago!). She had a perma-smile on her face as she would squat her cute little buns down into the water, splash around and then get out and either climb back into her bucket or move onto the water table. She also helped water a few plants but mostly just enjoyed soaking up the sun and going in and out of the water buckets and table.

Gabby was perfectly happy observing her siblings from the towel while sunbathing. But, she also enjoyed making sure Giuliana had enough warm water in her buckets, and helping her climb in and out of the water table safely. Gabby's such a great big sister! I enjoyed watching Gabby and Rocco tease each other with the hose... they would spontaneously spray each other when the other was unsuspecting. It caused a lot of laughs and screams of surprise and happiness... but it did stir a few arguments between the two of them as well. Sibling love at it's best!
Keep the nice weather coming.... we love it!

Easter 2012

It seems as though we've started a family tradition of coloring Easter Eggs the night before Easter. And while the actual egg coloring doesn't last or take long  – I think daddy finds this event a bit stressful. Eggs are being tossed into dye cups, dropped/cracked, little hands are dipping into dye cups… you name it - it's happening. I sort of find it entertaining watching Dan get a little frazzled amidst all the chaos, especially since I am typically the more anal parent and he tends to be more carefree.
It’s even funnier to think that the actual egg coloring probably takes 15 minutes to complete. I swear... it takes me longer to boil and prep the eggs.

The kids love coloring the eggs for Easter. Gabby has always done a really great job. She listens to direction so well and is patient and gentle enough to let the eggs soak up the color and not break them when putting them in or getting them out. Rocco had his best year yet. He dropped his eggs into the dye very gently and had a lot more patience compared to previous years. I think he only started experimenting with his fingers and dying other items towards the end. Giuliana was our wild card this year... grabbing eggs whenever she could, tossing them into dye cups making the dye splash out, she'd reach in and grab eggs out of the dye with her bare hands. Dan hovered over her the entire time.

Earlier that night while we were eating dinner, we spotted 4-6 bunnies in the yard. The timing could not have been more perfect! We went on to explain that the Easter bunny had sent his scouts to look for good egg-hiding places. The kids got SO excited and were jumping and screaming, which obviously scared off the bunnies. But, soon they came hopping back within view . The best part about the bunnies showing up on Easter Eve was this was only the second time we've spotted bunnies in the yard so far in 2012. And, if I remember correctly from last year… by mid-May, our forest will become infested with bunnies and baby bunnies. The kids thought it was a bunny bonanza!
On Easter morning, the kids woke up to finding their Easter baskets sitting in their bedroom doorways. Rocco came running in our room, yelling “The Easter bunny was here! The Easter bunny was here! And, he brought me better toys than the Gree.n Lantern superhero!” Dan and I literally woke up to that and it was hilarious. 

The Easter bunny left candy-filled eggs throughout the house and the kids had a lot of fun searching for them. Giuliana really got into it… and even more so into eating the candy! She must have had a pile of chocolates before breakfast.

 We invited friends over for a big egg hunt in the yard and Easter dinner. The kids all had a great time hunting for eggs throughout the yard. Giuliana had so much fun with it and quickly developed a talent for finding and yelling “EGG!” each time she spotted another. Rocco got bummed out at one point, before he knew there were more to search for in the backyard. He seemed to follow Gabby around and eventually realized he might do better if he ventured in his own direction to hunt for eggs. Gabby of course had no trouble finding eggs and definitely led the race on foot and collected a lot of loot.

The weather could not have been more perfect. It may have hit 70 degrees. The sun was shining bright all day with not a cloud in the sky. It made for a beautiful day and a nice way to reflect on Easter, new life and renewal.

The Great Name Debate

The baby name saga/debate continues… meanwhile, the little guy is literally due any day.

I am beginning to wonder if he is just not coming because he knows his parents can’t come to agreement on what his name should be. And, if that’s the case, I’m really worried… because I don’t know that we’ll actually be able to agree upon a name.
Rocco is convinced we should name his new baby brother Sandiego. This is his interpretation of Dan’s grandfather’s name, Santiago. Dan has always liked that name – mainly because he has strong emotional ties to it. Me, not so much. Rocco thinks Sandiego = Santiago. Dan and I both find this hilarious.

Gabby thinks we should name the baby Cruz or Rex. She and mommy both agree on the name Cruz. Rex is a name we had tossed into the name circle months ago, and it’s not a name that ever stuck on either Dan or I. Apparently, it did on Gabby.

Gabby and Rocco have also both asked numerous times if we could name the baby Matteo. Bless their little hearts…

Giuliana of course has no real opinion. But, I can tell she is easily entertained by the constant name debate happening in this house lately.

Dan’s favorites at this point in the game are Enzo, Marco, and Dario.

My favorite (as of 3 weeks ago) is Cruz. Yes, I know… it is not sticking to the Italian theme. It’s branching out and going the Spanish route. But, I just like the name… to me it’s strong and solid, and unique enough. It also seems to fit well with the other kids’ names.

So… this is our 5th child. But, it MIGHT be the first time we leave the hospital with a baby that does not yet have a name. Good grief!

Soccer Saturdays!

We took a long break from soccer. Actually, the last time the kids played any sort of organized soccer it was when we lived in California. So long = one year and nine months. Wow!

So, after lots of begging from Gabby (and in recent months, Rocco started asking too), I finally found a really great program that worked with our already busy schedules. And now, we once again have soccer Saturdays.

The kids LOVE it!












Rocco wakes up on Saturday mornings and throws on his soccer shirt the moment he wakes up. And, he LOVES his class. He loves the excitement of getting to be in a soccer class, he loves the drills, the coaches, the running & kicking. And, he's really great at it too. He's such a little athlete!

Gabby really enjoys it too. She had a rough start to her class session, as we accidentally put her on the field w/an all boys class of 7 & 8 year olds (her 5-6 year old co-ed class meanwhile practiced on the field right next to this). Gabby was in tears half way through the class, but we told her she needed to stick it out to the end. Dan and I kept saying how little she looked compared to all the other boys and why weren't there any other girls? So, Dan talked to the coach after, and found out that the coach was subbing and then they both realized that Gabby was in fact in the WRONG class.












Ugh! So, the *Parent of the Year Award* goes to.... ME! That's right, ME! Because I am essentially the one who shoved her onto the field in the wrong class.

Poor Gabs! Once we found out she was in the wrong class and explained it to her through her tears, we all got a good laugh. And, we were really able to pump Gabby up for making 3 goals in the older BOYS class! She did quite well for herself, even though she wasn't happy about it!







Now that she's been in her co-ed, age group class, she has been all smiles and really enjoying it. She loves her coach. And, she does really well... she's a very coordinated young lady!












And, while Giuliana is not yet signed up for soccer... she thinks she is just as big a part of soccer Saturday's as Gabby and Rocco. She will yell "I GO SOCCER!!"... so yes, she also goes to soccer too.

36+ weeks... almost there!

I'm now approaching the 37 week milestone in this pregnancy. But, I feel like I *look* more like I'm 40 weeks pregnant! (EXCUSE the bed head in this photo - if we didn't take the photo first thing in the morning, it just wasn't going to happen at all!)

My belly feels huge and has felt that way for weeks. I'm at that *really uncomfortable* & *really looking forward to the birth day* stage of the pregnancy. Bending over to do anything at this point - whether it's picking stuff up, putting shoes on, whatever - is next to impossible! Also next to impossible is getting a good night's sleep, holding a child in my lap, driving a car without pushing the backrest WAY back, walking for long periods of time without the baby pushing on my bladder and kicking so hard I think he's going to fall out, and doing anything sink-related (the belly is completely in the way and bumps up against the counter... so I have to extend my arms and always end up making a nice big mess.

For the most part, this pregnancy has been pretty uneventful. Aside from feeling very tired and dealing with some nausea and faint-like spells at the beginning of the pregnancy, the middle was smooth-sailing. Just extra sleepy. At 32 weeks, I slipped in the garage and fell flat on my back. Literally... FLAT on my back in less than a half-second. I was trying to carry too much stuff in the house, trying to hurry and had on some slippers. Well... the slippers lived up to their name! Dan was traveling. But, Gabby and Rocco were with me when it happened. Gabby actually got really worried and Rocco really react. Aside from bruised/sore elbows, and a sore spot on my lower back & head - I was fine. And lately, I feel like the little guy is literally scratching to get out... painfully so! He'll stop me in my tracks at times when I'm walking because it feels like his fist is going to pop out between my legs. Must be getting tight in there!

Also, up until 34 weeks, I was still walking 4-5 days a week for an hour (approx 3 miles). Now, it's way too uncomfortable. He literally stops me in my tracks because of certain movements... so I move a lot slower than I did even 2 weeks ago, and it's also so much harder on my back. This baby is growing!

The kids are SUPER excited to meet their new baby brother. I think Rocco has had the funniest questions/comments, so I had to jot down these notes on how the kids are feeling so we don't forget:

Rocco is VERY excited to have another brother. He will tell us about the things he'll do w/his baby brother and the toys that he wants to share with him. A few weeks ago, Rocco started asking a lot of questions about how the baby comes out. "Does it come through your belly button?", "Does it explode out?", "Does it pop out?". And, this of course led to a number of other funny questions... "If the baby is in your belly right now, is he in blood?", "When he comes out will he have blood on him?". Then, when I told him that yes, the baby comes out with blood on him, but he gets wiped off right away and all cleaned up. Rocco then asked "Do we bring him home?". I told him yes. And, he looked disgusted. So, I said, "Well, aren't you excited to hold your new baby brother and bring him home?". He said "I don't want to hold him if he has blood on him." And, "Gross... we can't bring him home with blood on him!" So, I had to spend a LOT of time reiterating that the baby will be cleaned up right away and he will never see the baby with blood on him because the baby gets cleaned up so fast. (Too funny!) And, Rocco has also told us he's glad to have another brother since Matteo went to Heaven because he misses Matteo.

Giuliana will pat my belly and say "baby!" and "baby butt!" (because I'll often put her hand where the baby's butt is and tell her that's the baby's butt she feels). But... I'm pretty sure she truly doesn't really understand there is a baby in my belly that is going to come out in less than 4 weeks (hopefully!) and live with us, and require lots of mommy's love and attention. However, she is VERY interested in babies right now... she loves holding them, pretending to feed them and change their diapers, and put them in bed and sing them to sleep. So, I imagine that a part of her will also be very entertained by having a new little baby in our house. And, I also imagine that she will be very ready to play mommy to a REAL, LIVE baby. She's also very focused lately on calling things "baby bagels" (for mini-bagels, etc.)

Gabby is VERY excited. EXTREMELY excited! She is constantly suggesting names, and asking what types of things she gets to help with. She wants to help change diapers and hold the baby. She also wants to help with diapering and feeding. I think she will be a GREAT helper... probably best at entertaining/distracting if the the baby starts crying when mommy can't get to him right away, as well as simply holding/cuddling him. Gabby is such a great snuggeler! She wonders what he's going to look like, and often tells us she wishes he looks just like Matteo. She's also asked if we can name the baby Matteo. And, her other name suggestions are usually the names of little boys in her class that she thinks are nice. We find this pretty funny! Non-classmate names she seems to like best include Rex and Dante.

Rocco - Getting Literal

Three recent funny Rocco stories. It seems the little man is getting quite literal.

We were having a S.kype call with my mom the other day. My mom said "Gabby, I hear you are reading books to Rocco and Giuliana now." Rocco quickly chimed in (with a *I'm catching you in a lie* tone of voice) "How could you hear all the way in Minnesota?". It was so funny...I couldn't help but laugh.

Last week, Rocco was really frustrated that he couldn't find one of his Batman cars. (This happens often... the boy child is constantly losing stuff and expecting everyone to find/know where it is... immediately.) He was whining and yelling for Gabby to help him find it. Gabby was sitting on the sofa, making no quick efforts to get up and look. She said "Rocco you have to look around you and you'll find it." Rocco then extended his arms pointing to the floor and area around him and said (err... very loudly and upset) "GABBY. DO YOU SEE MY CAR HERE? NO!" I feel like a version of this story happens quite often... too funny.

And, lastly... yesterday, Rocco was sitting on the sofa eating something. He asked me for a wipey. I told him he was going to have to get one because I was busy making dinner. Then, he asked again a minute later and I told him I couldn't at the moment. So, he got up from the sofa, walked over towards me in the kitchen to the counter where the wipes were... and he had a stubborn little-angry face on and said "You have legs, don't you?!" [Needless to say - this one shocked me! I wanted to laugh because I was caught so off guard and it was kind of funny. But, the adult/momma in me decided it was time to quickly have a little chat to discuss what would happen should we ever say something like THAT again!]

Little devil. Sure can be a funny guy though!

No more crib for Nana!

Well... we knew the day would come. But, we were hoping it wouldn't for at least another 6 months!

I had just told some ladies that Giuliana had not ever even attempted to climb out of her crib, and how easy bedtime was with her. Every night, we would just sing her 3 favorite songs while rocking in the rocking chair (Jingl.e Bells, ABC song, & Twinkl.e Twinkle). She would drink her
"milky" and "wa wa", and then we'd lay her in her crib (usually with a variety of toys... Batma.n figures, little princess dolls, stuffed animals, and always her purple blanket) and say "Goodnight Nana... sleep well... we love you!" And, she would happily say "Night, night mama... love you! Sleep well." We'd hear her sing for a while... sometimes at the top of her lungs, etc. But, bedtime was SO EASY! She would just go to bed.

Literally, the night after I told them how easy bedtime was... it all changed. Dan put her down (and she wanted mama to put her down... mama puts her to bed 99% of the time, so that's what she's used to), and she was NOT happy about it. She screamed her head off. Just as I was going up the stairs... there she was, walking out of our room, sobbing, yelling for me. I was shocked. She just climbed out of her crib! And, we have a new baby due in just weeks.... ACK!!

So, I tried to re-do the bedtime routine, put her back in her crib. Only to have her repeat her crib-climbing stunt just minutes later.

It's been a few weeks now (started on March 17th). We've purchased a toddler bed and tried having her *feel like a big girl* by putting it in Gabby's room and having them go to bed at the same time. This resulted in Giuliana playing for hours... and essentially keeping Gabby awake
too.

So, now we moved the toddler bed into our room to hopefully allow Giuliana to get used to sleeping in her new bed. Once she does, then we'll try putting her in Gabby's room again. It just wasn't fair to Gabby to be kept awake by a crazy little sister when she really needs her sleep so she can do well and school and her activities.

Giuliana is now napping pretty consistentely in her toddler bed in our room. And, at bedtime, she'll often want to start in her toddler bed.... but doesn't get serious about falling asleep until we ask her "Do you want to sleep in mommy & daddy's bed?", to which she'll reply "Yeah... momma-dadda bed." We usually have to sit in the rocking chair for a good 5-15 minutes - so she knows we mean bedtime-business. But, then she'll fall asleep.

Hoping it only continues to get easier as she gets more comfortable with her new toddler bed and freedom of being able to get out of bed as she pleases.

The timing of all this new bedtime routine is less than desireable. I'll keep my fingers crossed that bringing a new baby home doesn't disturb the progress we've been making!

Yikes!