Money factory...

Kids are definitely on to something...if they get good at this, I'll be quitting my day job.

Giuliana's 1st Gymnastics Class

Since Dan travels quite a bit for work, Giuliana often gets dragged to the twice weekly gymnastics classes for the big kids.

Lately, when Rocco & Gabby go out onto the floor... Giuliana attempts to follow them out there. Sometimes, I'll let her stand out on the floor, near where Rocco's class is starting their stretching and warmup activities. I let her stand there until I feel like the teachers might be annoyed by it.

Then, when I try to coax her into coming with me and playing on the iPad or running a quick errand, she'll say "No mommy... nana do nastics! C'mon mommy... nastics!"

It's so cute. And, I feel so bad for her because I know she really wants to be doing exactly what her big brother and sister are doing. Soooo... I decided to sign her up for a trial parent/tot class the other day.

Gabby started gymnastics at 18 months. Rocco started a few months after Matteo died... so probably closer to 21 months. And, the only real reasons I haven't signed Giuls up yet is because I already spend so much time at the gym, in CA the gym was 7 mins from our house (here it is 20 mins at least), and I feel like I'm already juggling so much lately I'm not sure how I fit it into the schedule! And, these reasons obviously make me feel like an awful mom... depriving the youngest child of a fun activity that SHE wants to participate in.

Anyway, Giuilana had a BLAST and seemed to really enjoy the class. Dan participated with her and I took photos from the side. Now... I just have to figure out where to fit in this new parent/tot class. Sadly, it's not offered at the same time as Gabby & Rocco's class.























Look what I got Daddy! Stamps & a paper to color for doing such a great job today!!

Three cutest pilots ever...

Arizona Girls Weekend

I was able to spend a few days in Tucson with these lovely ladies at the end of January. Two of us were very preggers at the time (27 and 29 weeks along), three of us were escaping the constant business of children, four of us were escaping the chaos of the daily work life, one of us was ditching out on classes for her MPH degree, and all of us were enjoying a little break from the fabulous men in our lives. So... quite literally... we spent a majority of our time together just relaxing and catching up. It was wonderful.

Lots of chit chat and stories being swapped. Lots of laughs. A whole lot of yummy food being consumed and fruity beverages, poolside (by the non-preggers people, of course).

I've known most of these ladies since grade school. They are a handful of my closest high school girlfriends. I have both heartfelt and hilarious memories with some of them dating back to the 1980's. This handful of ladies includes some of the people I like to call my best friends. We've been through thick and thin together. They've been there for me to support me through my darkest days and I would do the same for them. Each of us has traveled a different path through life, not always by choice, but we've somehow always kept connected through the tangled web life has spun for each of us.

The last time we ALL got together for a get-away was in January 2005 (six years ago!). They all flew to the Bay Area and we spent the weekend exploring San Francisco, and Carmel/Monterey.

On this trip, we definitely noticed how strange and old we're all getting, as conversation has turned from hitting life's big milestones to things like what we feed our kids, what we make for dinner at night, what types of exercise we prefer, if we're happy in our careers, etc. And, as Kelly was disinfecting our rooms upon arrival (which I would have done if she hadn't!), and me pulling out the soft soap for the bathrooms... we realized we're also very weird. We like to be clean. We like to be regular (yes - we happened upon many discussions discussing our bodies! ha!). We like *us* time, which seems so rare these days. We like to exercise. We love the conveniences the internet provides. We love Facebook. We love to read (well... when we have time to read!). And, we like good food!

I always think of this quote when I think of these girls: "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, the other gold." - unknown

Wee hours of the night stories...

I was woken up numerous times throughout the night last night... the most urgent plea being @ 2:04am from the child who couldn't find his gun, light saber and flashlight.

So, I had to tell the cute little fellow that "Yes, mommy will help you find all of those items first thing in the morning! Right now... it's time to sleep."

He wasn't convinced... it's amazing what can cause a middle of the night emergency for a child.

I plan to share more of these stories here, as I'd love for the kids to some day be able to look back and read about how they entertained and tormented us.

SNOW DAYS!!

Kids are ecstatic... they LOVE SNOW!!

Unfortunately, this snowstorm also resulted in:

* late start and early school closures for Gabby & Rocco on Tuesday

* no school for either of them Wednesday - Friday

* power outages for so much of our area... and our neighborhood was without electricity from Wednesday afternoon - Saturday evening. Thank G.od for generators!!

Being that I grew up in Minnesota, a snowstorm like this just doesn't seem like a big deal. I mean... we really only got approx 6 inches. However, the snow that falls here is so thick and heavy and wet... combine that with the millions of trees (and huge, heavy trees at that!)... it results in a nightmare of a situation for the electric companies and all of their customers.

Oh... and by the way, totally not helpful when you don't make any effort to plow the roads! Just saying... :)

Giuliana is TWO!

Giuliana is TWO! This is so hard to believe... I feel like she just came into the world two minutes ago. She is such a sweet little girl, she gives the best fish kisses, loves to hug, and is definitely a momma's girl. She also knows exactly how to turn the charm on her daddy to get what she wants. Smart little cookie!

Here are Giuliana's 2 year growth stats:
Weight: 21lbs 13 oz (40th %ile)
Height: 32 3/4 inches (25 %ile)
BMI: 14.62

Some notes about Giuliana at two years of age:

* Based on her 2 year growth stats, you'd think this was a different child. Giuliana was a big baby (8lbs 14 oz), but since her one month check-up, she has always been either not on the growth charts or just hitting 3rd %ile for weight. And, her height has always been in the 75th %ile range. Dr. C said that when kids start getting their height measured standing up, their height always drops on the percentile charts. And, we were all excited to see that she finally had put on some weight! She still looks like such a tiny little thing though.

* Giuliana is a great little eater. She loves or will try pretty much anything... some of the *not usually liked by kids food* includes avocados, broccoli, salmon, tilapia, pastas or any type or size. Some things she does not like include oranges. And, sometimes I can't get her to eat chicken.

* Some of Giuliana's favorite foods include soup (tomato or vegetable soup are the favorites), hot dogs, corn dogs (which she calls corn hot dogs), Kraft mac-n-cheese, pizza, turkey lunch meat, cheddar cheese, avocados, peas, and CHOCOLATE.

* Usually, I'll sit the kids down for dinner and while they're starting to eat their dinner I'm re-filling milks or trying to get my dinner plate prepped. When I sit down to eat, 90% of the time, Giuliana will get out of her seat and join me in my lap and eat off of my plate with me. I find this habit so funny. And, now during lunch, I'm noticing that when she sits down to eat lunch with Michalina (our au pair), if Michalina has something different to eat than Giuliana, then Giuilana will always want to eat some of her meal as well.

* Giuliana's favorite songs are Jingle Bells; the A,B,C song; and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. She will sing them upon request and it is SO STINKIN' CUTE to hear her sing these songs. She's still not very articulate, although her vocabulary grows every day. I can understand approx 65% of what she is saying. So, when she sings these songs it's super cute because you know what the words are and what she is trying to say. My favorite part of Jingle Bells is when she yells "hey!".

* Giuliana's a great little sleeper. She still takes one nap daily, starting at 12noon. She'll sleep anywhere between 1.5 -3 hours. I'd say she more often than not averages approx 2 and a quarter hour naps on a regular basis. Bedtime is usually 8pm. And, she usually wakes for the day between 7-7:30am. The one catch here is that Giuliana wakes up usually between 11pm-2am, and says "momma? momma?" or "momma? dadda?"... and that is our cue that we must get her and bring her into bed with us. Then, she goes right back to sleep without issue. And, we get extra cuddles from the cute little monkey.

* Giuliana earned the nickname of midnight snacker back in the fall. She started this crazy habit of waking up and asking for "milky" (milk) or "wawa" (water) or "milky wawa" (milk & water)... and then it turned into asking for "cook cook" (cookie) and "fishy cack cack" (goldfish crackers). Whatever it was, it became a very annoying habit. She must have been going through a growth spurt and just needed the calories. So, in the middle of the night we'd get the request and Dan or I would have to wander down to the kitchen to fulfill the cookie request or the cracker or milk or water request. Dan traveled so much over the past few months that I actually started packing a little lunch box to bring up to bed with me that I could have by the bed with anything Giuliana might ask her JUST so I wouldn't have to wander downstairs in the middle of the night. Pathetic, I know. Just recently, the middle of the night snack requests have stopped (yes... that is the sound of me knocking on wood!).

* Bedtime also has a typical routine in our house. On most nights, we'll read a bunch of books downstairs before bedtime, give the kids their vitamins, and then we make the *go to bed* call and that means it's time to go upstairs and put PJs on and brush teeth. We typically put all the kids in pajamas and brush their teeth at the same time. Dan usually starts the process (if he's not traveling) while I clean up the downstairs a bit. Then, I join them upstairs to finish the process so we can tuck Gabby and Rocco into bed and give them big hugs and kisses. Giuliana says goodnight to her brother and sister, gives them hugs and kisses and then I put her to bed. Mommy ALWAYS has to put Giuliana to bed. She will not go to bed unless I put her to bed. (However, Dan did tell me that it wasn't an issue while I was on vacation w/my girlfriends for 3 nights at the end of January... whew!) Anyway, if she knows momma is in the house, which I always am (except for the random occasion), then she will cry or protest until momma goes up to put her to bed. So, I just fully participate in the go-to-bed routine all the time because there is no getting out of it for me! I do a diaper check, we turn on the fan, turn on the crickets (sound machine), and we sit down in the rocking chair with her favorite blankey and milky and we rock while singing songs. I always ask her which song we should sing first and she always says Jingle Bells. Then, we sing the ABC song, and then Twinkle Twinkle. Occasionally, Giuls will ask to sing Jingle Bells again. And, she'll almost always sing along with me if she isn't drinking her milk. I love this time with her... it's just so precious.

* Giuliana more often than not prefers to look at books by herself. She likes to flip the pages at her own pace. Sometimes... she'll join Gabby, Rocco and me on the sofa while I am reading books to them. But, most often, she'll grab one of the books in our stack and finds her own place on the sofa next to us and flips through the book on her own time. Then, when something sounds interesting, she'll come over and curiously look at the pictures and watch me read.

* Giuliana still LOVES pretending to be a kitty-cat. She will "meow" very loudly for attention, crawl over to you on all fours and brush her face against your leg. This is your cue to pick her up and treat her like a little kitty and rub her back.

* Giuliana loves doing animal sounds... we must have over 20 animal sounds now that she loves to tell you about.... horse, cow, goat, sheep, rooster, chicken, duck, bird, dog, cat, bumble bee, froggy, owl, bear, turkey, etc. It's always so much fun to hear little kids tell you what sound an animal makes. Her funniest animal sound remains the rooster... instead of saying "cock-a-doodle-do" she will say "cock-a-dee".

* If Giuliana hears the word "treat", she'll come running! I almost crings when I hear the "t" word... because she is so insistent on getting a treat if she hears the word, or if one of her siblings asks for one in front of her, it can be very difficult to distract her with something else or forget about "treats" all together.

* Giuliana started refusing to sit in her high chair back in the fall. Now she always sits at the dinner table with us in a booster seat. There are positives and negatives to this. For one, we're not having to clean off the high chair. She gets to feel more a part of the family, and like she is doing a *big-kid* thing. But, now we have to worry about her wanting to climb into and out of her booster seat at the table. It just opens up another opportunity for falling on a hard floor and I'm not a fan of that.

* Giuliana has a broad spectrum of toys that she enjoys playing with, including all B.atman related toys and loves to hold the figures and make them fly or drive their cars. She also loves Buzz Lightyear, AND baby dolls! You can see her motherly and nurturing skills come out whenever she has a little baby doll in her arms. Or, seeing a real live baby is ever more exciting and she observes with such curiosity and a gentle spirit... it's very fun to watch that interaction. Anyway, she loves to feed and hug and undress baby dolls. She prefers her B.arbie dolls and baby dolls to be naked. It's kinda crazy! She also loves playing with Gabby's F.isher P.rice Dreamhouse doll house. She likes setting up the rooms and holding the little people that live/play in the house. She enjoys puzzles and blocks too.

* Giuliana also loves doing artsy stuff... she loves playing with play dough, coloring, and playing with stickers.

* She is still very attached to her purple blankey. It is definitely her source of comfort and I love that she has that. And, I love that I have a backup should we ever lose one!

* Giuliana likes to think she is one of the big kids. Anything she sees Gabby and Rocco doing something, she feels she should be able to do it too. While this can be super cute, it can also cause a problem from time to time when we have to tell her *no* to protect her because she's not big or old enough. It's hard being the little person sometimes - I get that!

* Giuliana's favorite TV shows are B.atman, Go Diego!, Wonder Pets, and Little Einsteins.

* Giuliana likes to choose what she is going to wear every day. Just like her big sister did/does! BUT, she is completely opposite from Gabby, who at age 2 wanted to wear dresses every single day. If I try to put a dress on Giuliana, she has a major fit and screams and cries and I almost have to wrestle her to get the darn dress on. So, needless to say... I don't spend a lot of time putting dresses on Giuls. I/we usually just let her choose what she wants to wear. And, she LOVES to wear footy PJ's... sometimes all day long. Who can blame her, right?

* Giuliana also loves being naked (with diaper on). She loves to strip down and run around the house with JUST her diaper on. I'm not sure why... I guess it's just the freedom of being naked.

* Just when I am sure Giuliana is going to be more tomboy than girly-girly like Gabby, she'll surprise me and want to put flower clips in her hair. Or, if I'm putting makeup on, she'll want to put makeup on. Same thing with jewelry... if she sees me or Gabby putting jewelry on, she'll want to do the same.

* Giuliana is obsessed with lotion. She LOVES putting lotion on her hands. She loves putting lotion on anyone who will let her. And, when I put lotion on my face, she always insists that she gets to put on mommy's expensive face lotion too.

* Giuliana, while she looks like the sweetest little thing on the planet, also has little not-so-innocent side to her. I think this is probably something that MOST children have. However, it becomes more evident in homes with numerous children because the circumstances to be not-so-innocent, or want something that another child has, present themselves much more frequently than at a home with a single child or one sibling. She's getting better as she continues on into her twos, but for a while, she would fight tooth and nail to get what she wanted from her siblings. Odd thing was that with other kids (non-siblings), she was and still is more willing to share. It's something we continue to work on with her. Since she isn't super articulate yet, she does seem to use action more than words when something has her upset. Like, if Rocco has a toy she wants, she'll often start crying and trying to take it from him, rather than asking him for it. Then, if I come over to talk to her and tell her she needs to wait, she'll sometimes act out towards me. Dr. C. assured me that this is all very normal behavior for this age, as kids sort of learn the *sharing* concept closer to 2.5 years old.

* Giuliana enjoys getting dressed up in Halloween costumes... Rocco's old B.atman costume, Gabby's old Butterfly costume, the C.urious George costume, and just recently has shown more interest in playing dress-up in Gabby's old princess dresses. The C.inderella dress seems to fit her quite well right now!

* Lately, when I say "Giuliana, you're so pretty" or "you're so beautiful".... she'll respond with "Don't SAY that! I not pretty.... I nana!" (because Giuliana still calls herself "nana")

* Giuliana's nicknames include: Giuls (pronounced "Jewels"), Giulsy, Nana.... and Rocco often still calls her "Junynana"

Sure do love and enjoy this darling little squirt! She makes me smile so big and laugh every single day. Seriously the cutest little 2 year old on the planet right now... but then again, I'm biased!

Rocco is FOUR!

Our sweet, handsome, crazy little Rocco is FOUR!! WOW!

Here are Rocco's 4 year growth stats:
Weight: 39lbs 12 oz (77th %ile)
Height: 41 3/4 inches (85 %ile)
BMI: 16.02

Here are some things about Rocco:
* Rocco really, really enjoys school. He goes 3 mornings a week (from 9am - 1pm). And, he gets a big smile on his face the second we walk through the school doors. And, when we leave school, it's so cute how all of the little people in the classroom say goodbye to Rocco (and some same "Rocky).

* For the longest time when we'd ask Rocco who his friends at school were, he would say "I don't know". Typical boy, right? Now, if you ask him who his friends are he'll tell you Ian, Rafael, Sebastian, Liam, Elliot, Halleigh, and Anika.

* And, unfortunately for Rocco, there aren't a TON of boys his age right in our neighborhood. The boys on our street all seem to be 7 and older. But, he's become good friends with the twin girls, Kelsey & Avery, who live across the street and happen to be almost a year older than him. And, when Kiley and Gracie (10 & 8 yrs old) come over to play with Gabby, they're such sweet girls that they always include Rocco in the play as well. Gabby and Rocco also often walk with K & G when they're walking their dog in the neighborhood.

* Sometimes, when I go to pick Rocco up from school, the girls in his class will tell me that he "gets" them and pretends to be a monster. And, I've noticed that his buddy Ian will always say "Bye Rocco", followed by a growl, monster face and claw hand stretched out at us, at the end of the day when I pick Rocco up.

* Rocco is so cute in that he's always calling me *his best girl*. I. LOVE. THIS. I seriously, truly LOVE being his *best girl*!! At night when I kiss & hug him goodnight he'll always remind me again that *I'm his best girl*. So, I always tell him that he's *my best 4 year old boy*, and how much I love him. He's going to be a little heart-breaker, this fellow!

* Rocco LOVES to wrestle his daddy. If he could wrestle Dan 24 hours a day, he would. Rocco and Dan will wrestle, they'll pretend to be transformers (and Dan has become REALLY good at acting like a transformer... as has Rocco), they're sword fight, punch each other playfully, and hunt for bad guys throughout the house with a variety of guns and weaponry. Dan is Rocco's dream daddy... and likewise, Rocco is Dan's dream child. Dan can act like a kid, and I don't have a problem with it because it's keeping one of the kids happy! And, it is truly fun and entertaining to watch the two of them together.

* And, because of the above bullet point... Rocco calls Dan *his best buddy*. And, I truly believe Rocco thinks of his daddy as his very best friend. Dan LOVES having the *best buddy* label. He loves that when he calls home from business trips, Rocco asks to talk to his *best buddy*. Or, the fact that Rocco will tell me when Dan is gone that *he misses his best buddy*. But, when Dan gets mad at Rocco about something or has to punish him for something... Rocco is also very quick to yell "You ARE NOT my best buddy!". Well... I guess life can't always be dreamy, right?! ha!

* Rocco's comfort item is his blankey. He has had this blanket since he was 11 months old, and it was a gift my mom made for him. It's a blue and brown blanket with a football pattern on it. It's got frilly edges and it's made out of fleece. Rocco LOVES this thing. It was been chewed on, sucked on, fought over (with him & Matteo), brought on vacations, etc. He can NOT go to bed without it. He WILL NOT go to bed without it. He now refers to it as his "tickley"... and when he calls for his "tickley" we all know we must go and hunt for the tickley blanket.

* Rocco's toes are WILDLY ticklish! He screams like a little girl if you tickle his toes. And, when I try to trim his toenails... well, I basically need to enlist the help of Dan or another adult so one can hold him down and try to hold his legs while I quickly try to trim the nails. His toes are SO ticklish... it makes me laugh so hard. Love this about him...

* Rocco is SO VERY EXCITED about his new baby brother who will be joining us this spring! He will often come up to me and kiss my belly and ask where the baby's butt or head is. From the day I told the kids we were going to have another baby, Rocco has been excited and hoping for a baby brother. I'm SO GLAD we're giving him another brother. I just WISH Matteo was still here with us though too. Everything about life remains bittersweet since Matteo died. I'm not sure life will ever not be bittersweet for me ever again. It is unfortunately amazing how your perspectives on life and relationships change when you have a child die.

* Rocco is a child who functions best on a schedule. He does best when his bedtime is at 8pm, his meals are prepped and ready for him at the regular times, and he has no problem pooping 2 times daily.

* Rocco is by far our best sleeper! We hug and kiss him goodnight at 8pm, tuck him in, turn the lights out, turn the crickets on (noisemaker) and he is out like a light. He usually sleeps until 7:30am. Every once in a while, he'll wake up in the 6 o'clock hour and we'll send him back to bed. And, oddly enough... he has actually come into our bed to snuggle 2-4 times in the past year because he's had a nightmare. And, I LOVE this... because I've never gotten to sleep with him or snuggle him at night the way I've been able to with Gabby or Giuliana. Rocco has always liked sleeping alone. People sleeping next to him bothers him!

* Rocco is currently in a gymnastics class twice a week and he loves it. Surprisingly, he seems to do really well in it also. It looks like he follows direction very well, and gets really involved in the activities.... with some extra jumping and diving into the mats here & there!

* So far, in his four short years of life, he has run through and ruined two screen doors. One last summer at a hotel in CA. One the summer before at the house we rented in Tahoe. We're hoping that number doesn't grow.

* No broken bones or stitches yet. YAY! But, this past fall he did manage to chip one of his front teeth. It wasn't bad enough for me to bring him to the dentist for an extra checkup. But, it is noticeable. Speaking of dentists... Rocco will have his third dental visit, for a regular cleaning, next week. And, he does GREAT with the dentist and so far has a clean record of good tooth health!

* Rocco is obsessed with super heroes... mostly B.atman! He also really loves transformers, guns, swords, flashlights, light sabers, cars, and any ball that can be kicked thrown, batted or hit around with any sort of object.

* Butt, poopy, fart, pee pee, etc., are all words that make him laugh. They are words that he will say out of the blue, just to try and make someone laugh. And, if you say one of those words in any sort of sentence, he will bust out laughing. We are constantly reminding him that those are bathroom words and only to be used in the bathroom or on the way to the bathroom... but we're still working on that! Boys... I swear! Do they ever outgrow this sillyness w/bathroom talk... I'm thinking not.

* Rocco also loves to entertain us by wiggling his butt at us. Yes. He does. He'll stand in front of you, bend down a bit, and wiggle those little buns. And, yes, he has cute little buns and it does make me laugh. Most of the time, anyway.

* Rocco is solid as a rock. The child is a lean, mean, funny little machine with abs! I swear, he's getting little abs.

* He started being able to spell his name all by himself last summer. By October, he had written his name by himself for the first time. And, now, he is more and more interested every day in what words say, and what the letters are. He likes to repeat the letters when you tell him how to spell a word. He also sometimes likes me to read to him, and then he pretends to read the same sentence that I just read. He likes playing some of the word/spelling games I have on the iPad. But, he truly doesn't yet have much interest in learning to sing the alphabet correctly. He'll start getting silly and make up letters along the way, trying to entertain us. I'll just let him take his time and not push him on this.

* Rocco can count to 15. But, he doesn't yet have much interest in counting higher than that. Again... I'm not going to push it. I know he's smart enough to do it, I just don't want to discourage him or make him think learning isn't fun.

* His favorite books are the books I bring home from the library that have silly stories about animal characters (dinosaurs, alligators, you name it!). He also loves books about cars, trucks, and of course... super heroes!

* Rocco plays so nicely and sweetly with Giuliana, even though Giuliana is not always the best playmate (not yet being good at sharing, etc.). Rocco is always so gentle with her and will often do things to help her, like go and get things she needs or her blanket for her. It melts my heart when he's so sweet with her.

* And, Rocco adores Gabby. He likes to do the things she does, whether it's gymnastics or trying to read, etc... he looks up to her. Rocco and Gabby also play very nicely together, and it's fun to see them enjoy more *big kid* activities together... like going to plays at the children's theater or playing a game together on the iPad, etc.

* Favorite TV shows include: B.atman, T.ransformers, and C.urious George

* Rocco's nicknames are: Rox, Rocco Bocko, and some of his little friends at school call him Rocky

Seriously LOVE this little guy more than words. He's my little man. My little dude. My little hero. I just love his hugs and kisses and how everything he does is SO BIG. He continues to give the world's best hugs too! Love. Bigtime!

Giuliana's cape

Giuliana received a B.atman cape for her birthday. Not just any Batman cape though... it was a hot pink one with a shiny silver logo sewed on the back.

It is truly excellent. Beyond excellent. It is extraordinary to this little lady.

Dan has called in the best gift ever.

It was something none of her family members even thought to give her. It was a gift from a very good/dear friend of mine. And, Giuliana LOVES it.

The cape might just get worn out. Giuliana wears it ALLLLLL the time. She requests it when she wakes up in the morning, and then again when she wakes up from her nap. She loves to run around the house in it so it flies behind her. She also likes to hold the edge of the cape with her arm straightened out, and then she'll turn her head to look at you with a very serious, B.atman like look. And, then she'll begin humming the B.atman song, quickly followed by more running. Truly cute AND entertaining.

For the first week or two, we had to battle major tantrums before her nap and before bedtime when we had to take the cap off before we put her down to sleep (obviously - could be a choking hazard). Thankfully, I think she has learned that no matter how much she cries... the cape can't be worn to bed. So, she hasn't thrown a fit in recent days/weeks.

This will definitely be one of those items I'll be saving for her. Someday, I'll surprise her with this and other special treasures from her childhood.

B.atman Birthday Cakes!

Since Rocco and Giuliana are both obsessed (and I mean OBSESSED!) with B.atman, I decided to make them both a B.atman cake to celebrate their birthday.

The only differences being the colors used, and the fact that Rocco turned 4 years old and Giuliana turned 2 years old.

















Rocco and Giuliana both LOVED their cakes. Thankfully! I don't know what I would have done had they not liked them. Both of them were constantly wanting to look at their cakes and could not get close enough to them, literally. It was no surprise that there were LOTS of little finger and tongue marks on both cakes before we actually cut into them. And, I'll admit I love that.... I actually think it's pretty cute, watching their anticipation and tries at sneaking licks here and there.

While we were singing Happy Birthday to each of the kids separately, we had to re-light Giuliana's candles several times because she could not wait to blow them out. Literally, the second we would light her candles, she would be trying to blow them out with a silly little smile on her face. Gabby thought this was hilarious. Rocco just patiently waited for the singing to stop and his turn to blow out his candles. He was VERY proud to be 4 and having us sing to him! Such a cute little man! And, Rocco would only eat his cake and Giuliana would only eat hers. Gabby, of course, enjoyed eating from both cakes!

I can only imagine that if Matteo were here I would have had the joy of making a third super hero birthday cake. I wonder if he would have been just as obsessed with Batman or if another super hero would have captivated his attention and heart.

We miss you Matteo... and we look forward to the day we are able to find out who your favorite super hero is. Hope you celebrated big up in the Heavens! We love you, sweet angel... big hugs and kisses from all of us. xoxo

D!SNEY Birthday Vacation!

For Rocco, Matteo and Giuliana’s birthday this year, we decided to go to what is widely known as the happiest place on Earth. Surely, this would help brighten and provide many fun distractions on what has become a truly difficult and bittersweet day since Matteo died two and a half years ago.

D.isney proved to be just what we needed… it was great. The kids loved it! They had so much fun and were literally on cloud 9 the entire time we were there! So happy, no fighting… seriously, just one bubble of constant happiness and cooperation! And, the bonus for us was that the lines were short or non-existent!! I can imagine there being plenty of opportunity for meltdowns on a day with long lines. So, we were very lucky!

Rides and characters are what made D.isney a memorable experience for this family! We of course spent all of our time trying rides and re-riding favorites. We spent very little time resting, eating and sleeping! The kids (including Dan), seriously had such a fantastic time trying out all the rides. And, we did indulge in one breakfast with Goofy. And, I choose the word “indulge” not because the food was out of this world… but because of the price you pay to eat average food and be tempted by a buffet of yummy, bad for you food, all while being constantly visited by D.isney characters.

Dan said it best: “Disney is like a kid’s Vegas… you drop a hundy at every table!” And well… don’t be fooled, that’s pretty much the truth!

Gabby and Rocco became roller coaster enthusiasts and spent the majority of their time riding and re-riding coasters. Their two favorite rides? S.pace Mountain and Goofy’s Sky School Coaster! They would have been perfectly fine just riding those two rides, constantly for two days straight. Other favorite rides included Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Gadgets Go Coaster, Astro Orbitor, Alice in Wonderland, TeaCups, Jumpin’ Jellyfish, Buzz Lightyear, Little Mermaid, and Its a Small World.

Giuliana also LOVED D.isney! Her favorite rides were the TeaCups, the Carousel, It’s a Small World, Alice in Wonderland, Buzz Lightyear (believe it or not – she loved shooting the targets!), Flying Dumbo, Ladybugs, any train or boat ride, and any ride where she sat on an animal of some sort. I literally would have to peel her off the carousel each time promising we could come back and do it again.

We were able to meet and see LOTS of Disney characters, including Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Chip, Dale, Rapunzel, Flynn Ryder, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother, Snow White, Woody and Jessie from Toy Story. Oh and some big bear (pictured here w/Dan & kids). There are probably more that I am forgetting to mention. But, it didn’t seem difficult to “happen upon” characters in the park, which was nice.

Breakfast at Goofy’s Kitchen was great and indulgent. And, I choose the word “indulgent” not because the food was out of this world… but because of the price you pay to eat average food and be tempted by a buffet of yummy, bad for you food, all while being constantly visited by D.isney characters. The kids LOVED this. So, while it was expensive… seeing their faces light up every time a new character came by the table was totally worth it for us.

Then, to top off our D.isney experience… we also decided to indulge in the “Birthday Party with Mickey and Minnie”. Again, same rationale as above for choosing the word “indulge”. The party was actually better and more entertaining than I had anticipated. The party was not exclusive to our family. Rather, it’s a party hosted @ 3pm daily by D.isney for anyone who wants to do a little something extra special for a birthday. Mickey & Minnie attend the party, they dance and sing and take photos with you. And, everyone gets a personal cake to decorate with frosting and sprinkles. The party host is Pat-E-Cake and he does a great job moderating, keeping both the kids and adults entertained. And, Gabby really loved the magic that Pat-E-Cake did. She could not stop laughing and was in total awe of his magic tricks. I think she also liked the special attention! J Giuliana’s favorite part of the party was eating all of her frosting that she was supposed to decorate her cake with, and dancing with Mickey & Minnie during the birthday song. Rocco’s favorite part was the cake decorating, watching the magic Pat-E-Cake did with Gabby, and dancing/singing the birthday song with Mickey & Minnie.

Each of the kids got to choose one souvenir to bring home. Gabby chose a Rapunzel doll. Rocco chose a car that he had to build (sort of like B.uild-A-Bear) at a store in the Disney Downtown area. And, Giuilana chose a white tiger stuffed animal from R.ainforest Café. Go figure… silly girl!

I didn’t bother bringing my good camera… just the point & shoot. So, while the picture quality isn’t fabulous… I was able to take a lot of photos and capture some good memories for all of us.

If I could thank Walt, personally, for providing many fun distractions during birthday week…I would. D.isney proved to be just what this family needed over what is typically a very difficult time.