Giuliana is 15 months old!

Giuliana had her 15 month Well Baby appointment right before we left for Hawaii (mid-April). She hadn’t been to the doctor since her one year appointment in January – and that was a good thing! Prior to that, we were at the doctor every week (sometimes twice a week) to treat her constant ear infections. Poor baby! Getting tubes put in her ears have been such a good thing for this little lady. She has had several colds since January… and not one ear infection! Hooray!

Clearly, not having ear infections is good for a child’s appetite because Giuliana has been eating like a champ since her tubes were put in. On some occasions she’ll eat more for a meal that Gabby or Rocco do. Since she’s been such a great eater – I was convinced she would have gained a lot of weight and impressed Dr. C. [In January, Dr. C was not happy with her low weight percentage (3^rd %ile).]

But, I think this girl is just genetically meant to be long & lean at this point in her life… because even while eating like a champ, she’s still barely on the weight chart and at the top portion of the height chart. Here are Giuliana’s 15 month stats:

Weight: 17lbs 15oz (3^rd %ile)

Height: 30 inches (75^th %ile)

Head: 18.5cm (75^th %ile)

Giuliana is not a big talker yet, but she is starting to show much more interest in speaking up for herself these days (instead of just screaming and pointing). She says “momma”, “mom”, “Hi”, “Hi baby”, “birdy”, and “bubba” (for pretty much any animal that she sees). She will also make sounds when you ask her what a horsey, dinosaur, kitty-cat and birdy say. She seems to also say her version of “thank you” every time you give her something… it sounds something like “tiku”.

The big kids adore Giuliana. And, she adores them. I think she has a special affection for Rocco…in the morning it is beyond adorable to watch the two of them constantly hugging each other and snuggling while they watch their morning cartoons. Rocco really plays the protective big-brother role with her… even telling his grandma recently “Don’t wiggle Junana… she’ll fall over” (and then of course, she fell over)… followed by “See… you DON’T WIGGLE JUNANA!!”

Giuliana’s two favorite rooms in the house are the pantry (with all the food snacks) and Gabby’s bedroom. She LOVES playing with all the dress-up necklaces in Gabby’s room, she loves playing with the doll house and all the doll house furniture, she loves baby dolls, and she likes pulling her clothing out of her dresser drawers and trying to put them on herself. She can flip through book pages for a half hour, talking as if she's reading it to you. She especially loves books with animal pictures. She also plays so well by herself... whether it's the play kitchen, baby dolls, the doll house or sitting at her little table with a snack while watching the big kids. She LOVES going outside to play… she especially loves wagon rides, stroller rides, riding down the slide, jumping and walking on the trampoline, getting pushed in her swing and finding slugs, snails and frogs in the yard. She loves coloring. Her favorite TV show is "The Wonder Pets" and "Batman" (she watches this with Rocco). She LOVES bath time with the big kids. The moment she hears “it’s bath time!”, Giuliana is the first to run screaming and running toward the stairs with overwhelming excitement. Giuls also gets VERY excited whenever we say “let’s go!”… whether we’re going outside or putting her in the car to drive somewhere… she screams and runs around the house with such excitement, it’s hard not to laugh. And, the second you buckle her into the car seat, she screams and laughs and is full of big smiles. Always so excited to be included and go somewhere. It’s truly so cute!

She is very shy with strangers. When people she doesn’t know say hi to her, she will act bashful and hide her face in my shoulder. However, the shyness completely disappears with her family… as she has no problem screaming at the big kids to get what she wants. She’ll push and pull and fight to get what she wants, sometimes really upsetting Gabby. This little monkey is sort of earning the nickname of “the biggest little bully in the house”.

We sure do love this little girl though! And, Dan can often be heard commenting “she is the prettiest little baby I have ever seen”.

Giuliana brings such joy and happiness to our lives. She is truly our little angel. She is gorgeous, funny, and full of personality. So loving and affectionate one minute and showing us her feisty side the next. I just love watching and observing her… it brings me such happiness.

We love you, Giuliana!!

Giuliana is Sleep Trained! HOORAY!

This cute little baby girl is officially sleep trained! YAY!

Now, for both her naps and bedtime... we just put Giuliana in her crib with her purple blanket and tell her it's night time and she puts herself to sleep. No crying. No fussing. Nothing! It's FABULOUS! I love sleep trained children. The bedtime experience is so much easier on everyone when there is no anticipation of a pre-nap or pre-bedtime battle of wills.

The twins were sleep trained at 7 months. They were ready at the time, and it was something we also needed to do for our own sanity and safety reasons. I mention safety becuase Rocco was crawling at six months. We also had a 2.5 year old. So, if there was only one parent home they couldn't be stuck upstairs trying to put one baby to bed several times a day while two other kids were on the loose down stairs waiting for their turn to come. Sleep training has been such a great thing for Rocco (and for us!). To this day, you just put Rocco in his bed at night, give him kisses and his special blanket, and he goes to sleep. No crying. No fights. He just lays in bed and goes to sleep!

From my experience, sleep training a bottle fed baby is MUCH easier than sleep training a breast fed baby. Giuliana is still nursing... but only in the middle of the night now. I'm actually hoping to have her completely off the boob by end of April. Once I weaned her off her pre-nap and pre-bedtime nursing... sleep training was easy breezy. But, it did require me to wean her. Hence the reason she was first sleep trained at 14 months old.

Gabby was never sleep trained. Largely, because she had colic and I made the mistake of bringing her into my bed to nurse her through her first teething pains at 6 months of age. I couldn't handle waking up every hour of the night and then trying to work the next day. And, I admittedly really LOVED snuggling her at night! I still have mixed feelings about not sleep training her. I'm so thankful for all the time I spent snuggling and cuddling her. It's truly such precious time and creates an amazing bond with your child. But, it also came with it's challenges and annoyances. Challenges being she never learned to put herself to sleep as a toddler, which we were made painfully aware of with the arrival of the twins. She was never really comfortable just going to bed "by herself". Someone always had to lay down with her in her bed until she'd fall asleep. While that's easy to do with one child, the second you have more than one child, and a parent that travels frequently... it's a recipe for a nighttime disaster! Also, if she would wake up in the middle of the night, she'd most often end up in our bed. So, for her... instead of sleep training a baby, we had to sleep train a toddler and then a pre-schooler to put herself to sleep every night. Let's just say that it is SO MUCH EASIER TO SLEEP TRAIN A BABY!! Granted... 20 months ago we had a very tragic disruption in her sleep training. Matteo's death obviously had a huge impact on Gabby and she was VERY aware that he died in his sleep. This did not help the sleep training one bit (for both her AND me).

Anyway... I am SO PROUD of our little Giuliana!! She is truly such a great baby. So happy-go-lucky, so curious and confident, such a great eater, so social with her siblings. Our only concern with her right now is that she might be the biggest bully in the house! She truly has a way of bullying both Gabby and Rocco. I'm shocked at times to see her steal candy out of Gabby or Rocco's hands. Or, they'll be holding a book and she'll go up to them and start screaming and pull it out of their hands. Now, she even fights Rocco for the iPad. This little package is full of dynamite! LOVE HER TO BITS!!!

Bleep!

Yesterday, Rocco was out riding bikes with Gabby and Maria, our au pair. When he was finished he was trying to take his helmet off. He was having a really hard time trying to unclip it and started getting really frustrated. Well... add this to an already frustrating day of waking up early, not getting to eat candy before lunch, your big sister teasing you, and your little sister wanting everything you're holding... and this pretty much equals a really bad day in the life of a 3 year old. After trying and trying to get his helmet unclipped, he finally yelled "I CAN'T GET THIS F*CKING THING OFF MY HEAD!"

Obviously, I don't want my kids swearing. Who wants their child to have potty mouth?! Not me! But, when they shock you with something like this, it is SO FUNNY that we were a pile of hysterics. We were shocked! Once you compose yourself, you're able to put your mommy hat on, slap on your serious (but understanding) face, and have the talk about *words that don't make you sound nice* and all the other words available to express your anger.

That's the first time I've ever heard Rocco say that word. Last year, he had a little run with the word "dammit". Probably due to the fact that daddy had lots of random house projects and seemed to favor that word when something went wrong or when he'd hurt himself. Well, it didn't take long before Rocco understood appropriate uses for the word. Next thing you know, Rocco would break something and say "dammit!" or he'd bump his head and say "dammit!". Needless to say, this was quickly put to rest.

The only memory I have of Gabby saying a swear word was from when she was 2yrs old:
Me: (just getting home from grocery store) Hi Gabby! Where are daddy and the twins?
Gabby: They are upstairs.
Me: What are they doing?
Gabby: The babies are sleeping.
Me: Well, where is daddy?
Gabby: Daddy is mad because he got throwed up on.
Me: He did? Uh oh... that's not good. What did daddy do when he got *throwed up on*?
Gabby: He said "goddammit"

I guess I was expecting her to tell me he wiped up the puke or whatever. So, this still makes me laugh because she said it so matter-of-fact, like nothing else happened.

Fashionista!

Gabby is always putting together very... well... umm... interesting outfits.

Sometimes... they look pretty cool. And, sometimes I try to gently add a little advice or make suggestions.

There are times she walks down the stairs buried in a layers of stuff from both her closet and mine and I think to myself "wow... that actually looks really hip and trendy. I wish I could put together an outfit like that and get away with wearing it!"

A year ago, I felt compelled at times to assure people that she did in fact dress herself, becuase the outfits were VERY creative. While I still think she is very creative, the stuff she puts together now more often than not actually looks pretty hip and cool.

She now often asks me "Mommy, were you born to work at a Children's Hospital?". And, I'll say, "well... I don't think I was BORN to work at a children's hospital... but I really LOVE working for a children's hospital". Then she goes on to say "Well I think I was born to work with clothes and dress people." So, then I try and think of and tell her about the many job options available to people who like clothes.

At age 5, Gabby insists she would like to be a stylist some day. I imagine this will evolve into many other hopes and dreams throughout the years. But, I love that at age 5, she knows what she enjoys and is passionate about... and is aware of how some people do this for work and she could someday too.

Future stylist to the stars? I don't know. But, definitely my stylist! This girl has WAY more style sense than I ever had or have! :))

Love this photo of Rox & Dan...

"F.ancy Nancy" and "P.eter and the W.olf" ballets

While my mom was visiting, we took the big kids to see two children's ballet's that were combined into one big show.... "P.eter and the Wolf" was first, and then "F.ancy Nancy" followed the intermission.

Gabby was SO EXCITED to go see this ballet for several reasons. She has been taking ballet and tap since January, so she was very interested in seeing a live performance. Secondly, she LOVES seeing shows of any type, whether it be a play, a dance show, or a movie in a big theater. This girl loves a reason to dress up and get fancy! Which leads me to the third reason she was excited about this... F.ANCY NANCY. She loves the "F.ancy Nancy" book series, and the illustrator of everything F.ancy Nancy just so happened to be here promoting the new book. So, not only did Gabby get a personalized autograph, but she got a photo taken with the illustrator.

This was Rocco's first experience with seeing a live performance in a theater. I was somewhat prepared to take him outside half-way through the performance (thinking he would get bored at some point). But, he really enjoyed the show too! Thank goodness they did the "P.eter and Wolf" ballet first though because it was definitely the more interesting story and Rocco was captivated. I could tell he wasn't as interested in "F.ancy Nancy", and I'll admit... I liked the "P.eter and the Wolf" ballet story better too.

It was a great show to go see with my mom & the big kids! Sorry for the bad photos... I took them w/my i.Phone.

Gammy Visited Us!

We had a lot of fun when Gammy visited us at the end of February. The kids were so excited to see Gammy and show her their new home (mostly their new bedrooms and the forest).

We took Gammy to see the S.pace N.eedle, and the children's ballets "Peter and the Wolf" and "Fancy Nancy" (which also included a book signing by the Fancy Nancy Illustrator). We went out to eat a number of times, we went on walks, we did a lot of talking, and we made lots of yummy home-cooked meals too. Gammy got to see how busy the kids are these days (I think my kids are her craziest grand children... just so energetic and active!). It snowed while Gammy was here (maybe 2-3 inches), so she was able to see our winter wonderland and watch the kids play in the snow on the ground. Gammy also got to see where Gabby goes to school. And, she also got to watch Gabby in dance and gymnastics class. Gammy spent lots of time playing with the kids and reading them books. She also spent lots of time helping our au pair, Maria, keep the kids entertained while I was working.

Yes, I am working again! I started doing contract work again for Packard Children's Hospital back in November. I was so happy to be reconnected with my "work family"! I basically took back a lot of the publication work that I had managed for the past 5 years. It truly has allowed me to balance out my personal needs. Being a mommy is my TOP priority! But, I also love having a "professional" outlet and a flexible job that allows me to work from home. March kept me busier than I would like to be on a regular basis (I took on an additional project resulting in full-time hours). But, it's great interacting with my old coworkers again on a regular basis - love them!

We sure do love having Gammy visit! Next time, Papa will have to visit too though... because Rocco kept asking... "Where's Papa?"

Ears Pierced!

She did it! As of February 17th, Gabby has been sleeping in her own bed throughout the night, every night. No more sneaking into mommy & daddy's bed in the middle of the night! YAY!

*Getting your ears pierced* has officially earned honors in the Martino family's book of bribery.

In order for Gabby to get her ears pierced... she had to sleep in her own bed, every night, throughout the night, for 7 nights in a row. Then, we told her she could also earn a new pair of earrings for each additional 7 consecutive nights of sleeping in her bed throughout the entire night (for continued motivation!). We've had a few hiccups along the way... but for the most part, we no longer get a visitor in the middle of the night.














Gabby was so brave on ear-piercing day! They told us in advance that they could only do one ear at a time. So, I had to tell Gabby it was going to hurt, but not any worse than getting a shot at the doctor. She wanted earrings SO BAD that she still wanted to do it. She was all smiles and giggles as they were prepping her ears. She was nervous, but very excited! The first piercing was followed by a very red face, a quick cry, tears dripping and her brave face holding back from full-on sobbing. I told her we didn't have to do the second ear... that she could change her mind. But, she was determined. So, they quickly did the second piercing and then she jumped into my arms and got her little cry out. Not even a minute later, she was full of big smiles and giggles while looking at herself in the mirror.

She now has a cute little pair of cubic zirconium studs in her ears. And, she looks absolutely DARLING with her ears pierced. Oh... and what made the day extra special? Gammy was here visiting and joined us for this special occasion. This meant a lot to Gabby and she'll always remember it.

Playing Restaurant

Lately, the kids have been playing a lot of restaurant. So far, Elm.o & his close relatives seem to be their best customers. Gabby likes to be the waitress, the hostess, and the restaurant manager. Giuliana even gets in on the act and tries to feed El.mo with a fork and spoon as she carries a plate or bowl around with her. Rocco seems to do whatever Gabby tells him too nicely for a while. And then he gets annoyed with being told what to do so he rebels by throwing E.lmo and his friends out of the restaurant and clearing the table in one big sweep of his arm. Good times, as always. :))

Favorites...

My two favorite recent photos of Giuliana...

Feeding daddy...

Someone little really likes to feed her daddy! Actually, she'll feed anyone who will allow it...but it seems to mostly be her daddy. On this particular occasion (back in January!), she was feeding daddy a yummy ice cream sandwich. It was so cute I had to snap a few photos.

Pre-Birthday Cake Practice Session

Giuliana had a little practice pre-birthday... we let her rip into a cupcake the night before her birthday. She really enjoyed it, as you can see.

Valentine's Day 2011

Dan & I are not huge Valentine's Day people... but it's definitely a fun holiday for the kids!

All of my kids rotated through a nasty cold virus the week before. Gabby was the sickest... up coughing throughout the night for multiple nights, followed by a sore throat, then the body aches and chills. Luckily, she recovered over the weekend so she could go to school and participate in the Valentine's Day party.

Gabby worked so hard and spent a lot of time making Rapunzel valentines for approx 22 classmates, 3 fun friends from gymnastics, and then she mailed some valentines to other friends as well as Gammy and Papa. I would have felt so bad for her if she had to miss the party at school!

The Valentine envelopes they made at school were super cute - huge heart envelopes, sewn together with yarn (see photo @ top of Gabby w/Rocco & our au pair, Maria). Gabby came home with the envelope filled and lots of little Valentine treats.

Rocco thought Gabby's envelope was a treasure chest and he was very quick to help her eat the candy! I'm sure this will be one of his favorite school parties next year. Rocco also made a few Spiderman valentines for Gammy & Papa.

Maria and I made some yummy Valentine cupcakes with Rocco and Giuliana. That was pretty much the extent of my Valentine's Day excitement!

Happy Birthday, Matteo.

Oh Matteo…where are you? You just missed your third birthday, your brother’s third birthday, and Giuliana’s first birthday. On a day that’s supposed to be so happy, fun and magical for three little people…part of me would have rather crawled into a hole. Sometimes it’s so hard to put on my happy face. But, we did… for Rocco and Giuliana, and also for Gabby.

My mind puts together an image of you at three that is handsome beyond words. Big brown eyes, sun-kissed skin, a longer and leaner body, your golden curls trimmed – but still wild, lips that are still perfectly plump, and a smile that could melt any mother’s heart. I picture you being the closest to Giuliana as you were so observant and interested in babies in the weeks preceding your death. You would still be the sweetest, gentlest little man I know… and such a great brother. I envision you still being the best kid in the room, and the one that would cuddle mommy for hours. I imagine you loving our new house and yard, wrestling with your daddy and brother, and playing catch with Rocco. I imagine you and Gabby playing make believe so nicely together… her telling you what to do and you just doing it so she lets you play with her. I know exactly where the bunk bed would have been placed in Rocco’s room.

I miss hearing your deep raspy voice. I miss playing with your hair. I miss holding your feet and hands when we’d snuggle on the sofa. I feel like I can still feel so much of you.

It’s amazing actually how a mommy can’t forget these things… the voice, the feel of her child’s skin, hair, and size of his hands, feet, face or how tall you stood.

So much you should be doing here with us. So many things you are missing.

Every night before bed, Gabby wishes and prays for you to come back to life. This was also her wish before she blew the candles out on her cake this year and last. If only wishes could come true…

Do you hear Rocco say goodnight to you every night before bed? Are you the one protecting him from all the mischief he gets into?

Have you seen your beautiful baby sister? Did you meet her before we did? Isn’t she just hilarious? She is a LOT like you, Matteo. She is as sweet as the bees knees…but she’s got the feisty side to her just like you did.

Do you sit on the moon at night? Are you a star in the sky? Do you sit on our shoulders throughout the day? Are you with us constantly? Do you make the stars twinkle for us at night? Because I tell the kids this is what you do all of this…

Do you listen to me when I talk to you before I go to sleep each night? Do you help me watch over the kids at night while they’re sleeping?

Is Heaven as beautiful as they say it is? Gabby now often asks what you’re doing up in Heaven. She thinks it’s really neat that you get to have ice cream whenever you want, that you don’t have to go to bed at any certain time and that you can bounce on the clouds. But, she quickly reminds me how much she wishes you were still here with us instead of in Heaven.

We went out to dinner the night before your birthday. After dinner, ice cream sundaes were delivered to our table for Rocco and Giuliana. As I was telling Rocco to not eat the candle on his birthday sundae (because he bit into it!), Giuls was sucking on and starting to bite on hers. We all started laughing uncontrollably to the point where our tummies hurt… and then I looked around at all of us laughing and my laughter quickly turned to sobbing…because you should have been there laughing with us. I ruined the moment. There we were… suddenly sad. One minute a family in hysterics, and the next minute somber and unfixable. We miss you. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. I could see sadness in your daddies eyes. Gabby was now filled with tears. And, Rocco told me not to cry.

We still constantly look for signs from you. So, keep sending them when you think of it.

Oh, and thank you for the sky FULL of stars on your birthday. Lord knows that’s no easy task in the winter months here. We know you are out there somewhere among those beautiful stars, and we look forward to the day when we will hold you once again tightly in our arms. We’ll certainly have a lot of catching up to do. Or maybe we won’t?

Not a moment goes by that we don’t miss you or think of you or feel your loss. I wish with all my heart we would have had more than just one birthday to celebrate WITH you.

Happy Birthday Tato buns! I love you! We ALL love you.