My Big Fat Italian-Polish Family

Regression then progress

2012-01-19T15:38:00.003-05:00

Things were going well with Luci and potty training.

We started a sticker system on the calendar:
For every day she did not have an accident - she got a sticker for the day.

As you can see she did great for the better part of last week - and then it stopped! She is totally trained with peeing on the potty - I don't even have to remind her anymore! She tells me and goes on her own.

Pooping on the potty was a different story.

She started to hold it in -
so when she had to go, it was a 1-2 hour game of torture where she were tell us that she had go potty, sit on the toilet for about 10 seconds and then not do anything.

This would repeat about every 2-5 minutes - NO JOKE! - for 1-2 hours!
That is until she would have an accident.
Therefore - no stickers for those days.

Then all of sudden - it clicked.

Twice today she told me that she had to poop on the potty while I was tied up with Alena.
She went into the bathroom on her own, pulled down her pants, got on the toilet, and did her business!

I am so proud of her - hopefully we are totally trained now!

I can't imagine pooping on the potty being scary, but I guess it was for Luci!

Making Progress

2012-01-06T10:02:00.002-05:00

Potty training has not been fun.
But all of sudden, there is an interest.

Yesterday, she had a dry diaper for awhile.
So I suggested big girl "princess" underwear.
(Expecting the usual "no Mama, I like diapers.")
But to my surprise Luci agreed.

And she has been compliant ever since!

It's only been 24 hours, but I am hoping that this is the beginning of the end of diapers for Luci!

December 2011 - Alena 8 months

2011-12-30T17:46:00.009-05:00

Christmas was wonderful with our 2 little girls. They were so mesmerized by the tree, the lights, the music, the stories, and the movies. Santa was very good to them - and to us by not bringing too many gifts!

Alena is turning into such a Mama's girl. She lights up when I go near her and gets pretty upset when I leave a room. I am fine with it because Luci has turned into a huge Daddy's girl, so it will be nice to have a daughter who prefers me!

She is still trying to crawl, but hasn't mastered it yet. She can get up on all 4's for a split second and then her legs slide out from under her - she gets so upset when that happens. I am really not encouraging the crawling thing because I am still enjoying the non-mobile phase. I remember with Luci that once she started crawling - it was all over!

She is turning into a great eater too. She gobbles down all the fruits and vegetables that we feed her. And I have started pureeing the thickened soups from my parents, so she is getting a variety of flavors now too. She started feeding herself finger foods over the past week or so. She struggles a little with those puffs, but when she gets one in her mouth, so is so happy!

I am sad to report that her 2 bottom teeth have popped through over the past few days. Right around this time of year the same thing happened with Luci. However, after she bit me a few times, she sensed my hesitation when I went to nurse her and she quit nursing on her own. It was devastating to me. I am hoping that Alena won't bite me or if she will that I won't be as apprehensive about nursing. I have no problems with solely pumping the last 4 months, but I really enjoy nursing. Although I have SO MUCH milk in the freezer that I could probably quit pumping and nursing in February and be fine till she turns 1.

Luci continues to be a great big sister. She loves to play with Alena and share her toys (well, most of the time). She got a karaoke machine from John's parents and she loves performing for us - it is quite a sight! We are still struggling with potty training, but she will get it when she is ready.

We hope that everyone had a great holiday as we did!

A little too much...

2011-12-13T20:12:00.001-05:00

..."Phineas and Ferb"?

Probably - when your 2-year-old daughter says: "So, whatcha doin'?"

Our Elf

2011-12-09T10:05:00.002-05:00

We have adopted the new trend - "The Elf on the Shelf."

He's a little helper from the North Pole who visits us during the holidays and watches over us during the day. At night, he flies back and reports to Santa. When he returns to our house, he picks a new place to watch us. It makes for some morning fun!

We named ours Snowflake. We can't touch him or else he may lose his magic.

We just hope that he tells Santa good things!

November 2011 - Alena 7 months

2011-12-01T15:31:00.005-05:00

Alena is going to be a talkative one - she is already trying to get words out with constantly spouting out "ba ba ba ba ba." Sometimes I swear she says "mama" but I am sure that I am delusional.

She loves her big sister - they play so well together now that Alena can sit up. Luci even shares her toys with her little sister. Although Luci tends to be a bit rough with Alena, she doesn't seem to mind one bit. The other day, I was washing dishes and I looked up to see Luci walking toward me saying "here Mama - here's Alena!" I wish I had the scene on video - Alena was dangling from Luci's arms with a huge smile on her face as Luci was CARRYING her into the kitchen!!!!!!!!!

She is eating like a pro now - one container of veggies and one container of fruit every day - in addition to 8-10 oz of Mama's milk 4-5 times daily. I am no longer concerned about her bowel habits - she is quite regular now. I have a lot of frozen soups from my parents and I am going to start to puree those for her now that she has been developing a good palate.

She is sleeping great too - at least 10 hours at night and at least 1 2-3 hour nap during the day with little cat naps here and there. No more need for the cry-it-out method. She is starting to stand with support now, like holding onto the couch. She is also starting the beginning steps of crawling - as she sits on the floor, she is lunging forward to grab things further away. But I am hoping that actual crawling doesn't start for awhile.

Luci has quite an imagination. She plays so adorably - I watch her as she acts out little scenes with her dolls and toys. She is loving the Christmas season with the tree, lights, and songs. She can sing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" in its entirety.

She's a smart little whip too. She has been able to recite the alphabet and count to 12 for some time now (she knows the numbers to 20, but from 13-20 she mixes them up). Lately she has an interest in learning Spanish. One of Alena's toys has a Spanish mode, and Luci is always changing the switch from English to Spanish. So much so that I can sing the alphabet in Spanish now and I can hear Luci going through some of the letters with me.

We still have not mastered going on the potty consistently, I am hoping it will come in time. Santa is bringing her big-girl underwear with the princesses and Tinker Bell on them - I hope that they will be an incentive. We'll see!

Yes, we did it again!

2011-11-12T12:07:00.003-05:00

She cried even less than Luci did!

October 2011 - Alena 6 months

2011-10-31T14:52:00.004-04:00

I feel really guilty about wishing Alena's infancy away (that was a tough time for me), because here we are halfway to her 1st birthday. Time really does fly when you have your hands full!

She has developed so much over the past month. She is sitting up unsupported now - it happened overnight, it seems! A few weeks ago, if I would place her in the sitting position, she would just fold in half with her face planted on the floor. Then one day she caught herself with her arms and was in the tripod position, then a few days later she was sitting with her arms up in the air as if saying "look at me, looky at what I can do!"

She finally got over her cold and ear infection, but it left us with a bad habit - waking up in the middle of the night for a snack. She would go right back to sleep, but then she started with this thing where she wanted to be held until she was totally asleep. If I thought that she was sleeping and go to lay her down in the crib, she would start to cry - but then immediately stop if she was picked up. Well, that had to end -- enter Ferber-ization! We did the cry-it-out method, and within 3 nights she was sleeping through the night and not needing to be held. I am a believer!

I was feeding her 1 container of baby food daily and then advanced her to 1 container twice daily just last week. After I advanced her, I noticed a change in her bowels - I think that all that food was starting to constipate her. This past weekend she would have a screaming fit, and when it ended, I smelled the aroma. So I have added prunes to her menu and cut her back down to 1 container daily. We go to the doctor on Thursday, so I will be sure to address this with him.

She is drooling and putting things in her mouth constantly. Her favorite thing to put in her mouth - my knuckles. She gnaws on them nonstop - sometimes it really hurts. But she doesn't have any teeth yet (which I am grateful for since I am still nursing).

Luci had a good month too. She is MUCH better at dance school now. She doesn't cry or run to the door at all - and we can actually sit at the window the entire 30 minutes. Last week, one of the other little girls was hesitant about going into the studio, and Luci told her "C'mon Charlie, come with me and dance!" I am so proud of her.

We have to be very careful about what we say and who we talk about in Luci's presence these days because not only does she repeat everything - she REMEMBERS everything! The other day at dinner she looked at me and said "One day, your mom was at our house, and she called Alena Oscar the Grouch." I asked her if she was talking about Nonni and she confirmed it. I called my mom (cracking up) and told her. She didn't recall that, but said that she must have made that comment if Luci said so.

Potty training is going a little better. It's just that I have to remind her to sit on the potty, but she is very compliant. There have only been a few times when she tells me that she has to go potty, so mainly she is being instructed to go. I have her in pull-ups as an incentive, and Santa is going to bring her underwear as a stocking stuffer, but I am open to suggestions!

Halloween was fun - Luci had multiple activities and multiple costumes for each - thanks to the hand-me-downs from my sister! We had 4 different costumes to choose from!

Here are pictures from last month!

Follow-up

2011-10-24T10:10:00.002-04:00

I saw the new Footloose movie.

Keep in mind that I LOVE the old one,
and have been obsessed with Kevin Bacon ever since.

But I must say, it was good.

A lot of the same lines,
same songs,
even same dance moves.

Some differences which were necessary for the time change.

Best differences - when Ren drives into school blasting "Bang Your Head" in his car - the new song in this movie is "Black and Yellow!"

Pittsburgh representing!

Right up my alley!

2011-10-10T18:30:00.002-04:00

Totally going to see it Friday night! Will report back.

September 2011 - Alena 5 months

2011-10-02T17:37:00.008-04:00

Alena is our chunky monkey - weighing in at over 16 pounds already. But she is really long too. We always thought that Luci was tall, but Alena is 2 inches longer than Luci at this age already. She has been out of her 3-6 month sleeps for over a month already - they were just too short for her. The 6-9 month sleeps are just right now, which means she will be in 12 months sleepers sooner enough.

We noticed a change in her eye color. She did had blue eyes the first 2 months. During the next couple months, we though that they were going to be green. Now it seems as though that have changed again - to brown. Finally a brown-eyed grandchild - all the other girls have blue eyes.

We just started her on cereal and baby foods, which she is taking very well. But she still loves her mama's milk. I didn't think that I would be able to keep up with nursing and pumping as well as I did with Luci, but my mild supply this time is even more abundant than before. I have about 60-70 packets of milk in my fridge right now (anywhere between 7-11 ounce packets). It was never like that with Luci. It's crazy how things are different.

Speaking of differences - Luci was sitting up on her own by this time, but Alena can't do that just yet. If I try to sit her up on her own, she just folds over in half. Her back just isn't strong enough yet. She rolls from her back to her belly all the time, and holds her head well when she is on her belly, but she still needs to build strength to sit up. She is in her Bumbo chair quite a bit as a result.

Unfortunately, she has developed her second cold, which now has turned into a right ear infection. So she is on her first course of antibiotics. She has been sleeping in her carrier for a week now, which allows her to be comfortable and not choke on her mucous in the back of her throat when she is flat on her back.

She smiles and laughs all the time now. And she definitely recognizes those faces with whom she is familiar. When I come home from work and she sees me - her little face lights up and she kicks her legs and goes crazy. I love it!

Luci started dance school earlier this month. It's going alright. She freaks out at times and runs to the door for either me or John. We tell her to go back, and she does, then 5-7 minutes later, she does it again. I am hoping that as the weeks go by, she will become more comfortable and not need us to be at the door anymore. There is a window where we can sit and see each other, but she wants us at the door. Thankfully, we are not the only parents at the door.

Potty training was going really well right after I had Alena because we were at home (inside) all the time. She would go on the potty 4-5 times each day. But as I became more comfortable with the baby, we would start to venture out - going to the pool, to parties, etc. - and we lost the consistency of going on the potty. She will still go every night before her bath. She also tells us the instant she makes #2, and she just started to tell us when she makes #1. We tell her to let us know BEFORE, but I don't know if she totally understands what we are saying.

I love being part time these days because it really allows me to appreciate both aspects of my life now - career and motherhood. Staying clinical in my field is critical, but I think that in the future that I may go into education (there are a ton of PA schools in this area), so that I can have summers off and be able to take my girls to the pool on a daily basis - just as my mom did for us - and I wouldn't trade those years for anything!

Here are pictures from the last month.

Wedding season!

2011-09-16T09:04:00.001-04:00

Starting this Saturday, we have 3 weddings in 8 days!

Saturday - wedding (John's good friend)
Friday - rehearsal dinner and a wedding (friend from college)
Saturday - cousin's wedding (doing the second reading)

I think that we are done for a while after this!

Dance School Bound!

2011-09-14T09:00:00.002-04:00

Succumbing to technology

2011-09-08T13:34:00.002-04:00

What was I thinking?

Sisterly Love!

2011-09-03T08:49:00.003-04:00

What I resort to when Alena is crying and the swing is broken!

Reality Check

2011-08-19T14:01:00.003-04:00

I went to a funeral home viewing last night.

I wish it would have been for a friend's grandparent -
someone who had lived a long and fulfilled life.

But it wasn't.

It was for someone who I went to high school with.

We met before high school -
hanging out at the pool and having fun in the summers.

We were on the track team together,
and even went on a school trip to Italy together.

She went to California after graduation,
and sadly we totally lost touch.

She had become an extreme snowboarder,
and was ranked internationally.

Unfortunately, the mixture of a bad diet and a rigorous exercise plan
ended her life too soon.

You will be missed by all, Lisa, and I will cherish our memories!

So Happy!

2011-08-06T10:56:00.002-04:00

Happy Alena waking in the morning - I would be this happy too after the 3rd consecutive night of 12 hours of sleep! Watch - she will wake up at 4am on Tuesday because I have to work!

Figuring it out...

2011-08-04T09:42:00.002-04:00

...Alena's sleep pattern, that is:

Monday - no work - awake at 7am

Tuesday - work - awake at 3:30am
Wednesday - work - awake at 4am

Today - no work - STILL ASLEEP - it's 9:45am!!!!

So - she sleeps on days I am off, and needs her early morning snack on days that I work.

She knows!

July 2010 - Alena 3 months

2011-08-02T05:41:00.002-04:00

Maternity leave has officially ended - as has baby boot-camp. Going back to work was smoother than I ever thought possible, and Alena is out of that "so-small-infant" phase. Things are definitely easier at home, which has made going back to work much more tolerable.

Our little Alena is not so high-maintenance anymore, which makes me very happy. We are able to lay her on the play mat or even in the swing (with it not swinging because it's busted!) and she is content for long time. This makes it easy to be available to Luci when she is need of attention.

Alena is very much like her big sister and has found her thumb. I hear her in the middle of the night on the monitor sucking away at times, and she is able to pacify herself back to sleep. Speaking of sleep - her sleeping habits are not as consistent as Luci's were at this age. Luci definitely spoiled us. Alena isn't bad by any means, but lately she wakes up at 4am at times, nurses for about 5 minutes, and then falls asleep again until 9am. I am NOT complaining, just comparing. I am just hoping that as the weeks go by that she will not need that 4am snack. She didn't get up until 8:45 yesterday morning, but was up at 4:30 this morning again...so she is just not finding her own groove just yet.

She is getting better control of her head these days. We do little exercises to help her gain neck strength. She is tolerating tummy-time much better as a result. Unlike Luci, she has not attempted to roll over yet. Looking back at Luci's 3 month post, I wrote that she was trying to roll over but would get stuck 3/4 of the way. It's hard not to compare.

Luci has become more brave at the pool. She is plunging herself in the water of the baby pool and puts her face under when she does so. She has been so active this past month - singing, dancing, swimming...it's hard to get her to nap on some days because we are so busy. A quick car ride is a great remedy for that.

I have been looking for a dance school for Luci, but haven't been able to find classes that fit with my work schedule...I am still waiting for some call backs though.

Here are pictures from the last month.

Future singing career?

2011-07-31T12:05:00.002-04:00

NOT!

Losing my mind!

2011-07-26T13:27:00.002-04:00

I need to find my groove again.

I am a very methodical person and I like routines.

But being out of routine for 12 weeks definitely takes its tool.

I tried to be organized last night for this morning:
Pump was set for the morning session.
Lunch packed in the fridge.
Oatmeal packet in my purse.
Clothes out.

Everything went very well at home and I was out of the door early...
despite Alena waking to nurse at 4am (thanks, sweetie!).

I was feeling my groove again at work quite easily.
Then I went to pump,
and I realized that I forgot a piece at home!

Thankfully John was off and was willing to bring the piece to me,
because there was NO way that I could wait until I got home.

I never did this after I had Luci...I am really losing my mind!

Back to the Grind

2011-07-25T16:04:00.002-04:00

Today marks my last day of maternity leave.
It's bittersweet.

I'm going to miss spending so much time with my girls,
but I am looking forward to having regular adult interaction again.

I am not looking forward to waking at 4am to pump,
but at least I don't have to do it every morning again.

I will also miss having so many lazy days,
but I am in need of a schedule again.

Going back to work this time around is going to be much easier,
and much more appreciated!

One year later...

2011-07-11T10:45:00.004-04:00

I haven't posted about my friend Jessica who survived a traumatic event while giving birth to her 3rd daughter in a while.

Well, I am happy to report that she has been home since December, working very hard to walk, talk, and remember.

Her husband threw a big bash at their house this past weekend in celebration of survival 1 year after the trauma.

Jessica stood up and told everyone "thank you, I love you, and I'M BACK!" It was very emotional, but very inspiring.

Congratulations Jess, we are so happy to have you in our lives!

For Real?

2011-07-07T09:09:00.004-04:00

When my sisters and I were young, we danced.

There was a local dance studio and many of our friends and neighbors danced there.

They even had a dance company that was competitive - the head honcho there (Abby)really wanted us to join, but it meant a lot of time and a lot of money. My mom didn't want to commit because we were involved in other activities as well. Abby and my mom got into a fight over my mom's decision, insulting my mom and telling her that she was wasting our talent and that my parents' money would be better spent in her dance studio. Needless to say, we left the dance studio.

Now don't get me wrong, this turned into a very successful dance studio - I have friends who have gone far in the dancing business as a result (ie Rockettes, Broadway, even movies).

We just heard about a new reality show starting next week on Lifetime -
check out this website and watch the video. Here's another website.

Good decision, Mom!

Yes - that is where we danced and that is the lady my mom fought with!

The ironic thing is that I want to start Luci in a dance school and I WAS considering this studio because it's so close to my house - NOT ANYMORE!

June 2011 - Alena 2 months

2011-06-29T10:30:00.011-04:00

This was a much better month!

We kicked it off with Alena's Baptism. Her Godmother is my sister Marina and her Godfather is John's uncle (and his Godfather too) Uncle Joe. It was a wonderful ceremony and lunch followed. We are so lucky to have such a big and supportive family - 61 people were at the lunch, and all but 3 of those guests were at the Baptism. The priest was impressed too.

Unfortunately Alena got her first cold this month. It started last week and we had our worst night as a result. She was so congested that she couldn't breathe well. She must have had really bad post nasal drainage too, because she would try to cough to clear her throat but it would scare her and she would start to cry. I finally brought the carrier upstairs and she was able to sleep comfortably in it since her head was elevated, and she has been sleeping in in ever since - the cold is still lingering, but not as bad.

I was starting to wonder about her sleeping habits because she was still waking up once in the middle of the night (yes, I know I should see that as a blessing, but I was spoiled by Luci). I glanced at the post when Luci was 2 months, and I talked about how she started sleeping through the night. Right after I looked at that post, Alena blessed me with a 7-hour night, and has been doing the same ever since! She'll fall asleep anywhere between 10:30 and 11:30 and then wake up around 6 or 7am.

Alena is awake most of the day now. She'll take one good 3 hour nap during the day, with multiple little cat-naps in between. Her awake hours are mostly spent on her play mat, in the swing, or in my arms. She laughs and smiles all the time now, and it amazes me how much she resembles Luci at 2 months.

I have another thumb sucker on my hands. Alena is getting better at finding it now when she gets fussy. I am certainly not discouraging it because thumb sucking was such a savior with Luci.

Luci still loves her little sister - giving her kisses and loving her up (and I wonder how Alena got a cold). She is obsessed with puzzles these days - and not baby puzzles - she insists on doing puzzles that are anywhere between 24 and 64 pieces. She finds the faces and body parts of the various characters, pieces them together, and then can finish the puzzle with little help. It amazes me.

I try to take Luci swimming, but I have to go with reinforcements. So being dependent on other people going with me has made our trips to the pool very infrequent. We have a small blow-up pool that I put out on our deck and Luci can enjoy swimming while Alena and I enjoy the fresh air in the shade. It's all about being creative at this point.

We FINALLY got our swing set too. We totally consumed the day of John, my dad, my uncle, and my father-in-law, but it is complete and Luci loves it. It's nice to have an escape right in my own backyard.

I return to work in 3 weeks. I am not dreading it nearly as much as I did with Luci. Probably because I am not going back full-time. Plus I look forward to having a schedule and a routine. I plan on signing Luci up for a dance class, and we will continue to attend our church's play group. So we will remain busy and active.

Here are pictures of the Baptism (thanks to my brother-in-law) and here are pictures from the rest of the month.

Accomplishment

2011-06-27T16:00:00.003-04:00

I went to the grocery store with both girls-
by myself.

Alena cried the whole time.
Luci called out "Mama, hold me" the whole time.

I didn't get everything on my list, but I got the important stuff.

I'm done for the day!

Family Fun Weekend

2011-06-23T09:26:00.003-04:00

Here is the line-up:

Friday - Graduation party (one of John's swimmers)
Saturday - Wedding (my cousin)
Sunday - Another Graduation party (John's cousin)

Due to my cousin's wedding we have some family members from Arizona in town. So my mom thought that it would be fun to have them over their house for dinner last night.

We didn't leave my parents' house until almost 10 - the kids were having so much fun and were so strung out on ice cream, cookies, and ring pops that we just let them run around until they were exhausted.

As a result - Luci is STILL sleeping - it's 9:30am!!!!

She is going to need her rest to get through all the festivities this weekend!

Life with a toddler

2011-06-20T20:55:00.003-04:00

Last week:
I was finishing nursing Alena.
Luci was sitting in the playroom where I could see her.
I noticed a strange look on her face.
As I approached her - I was mortified.
She had her hand in her diaper.
When she pulled it out, her hand was covered in poop!
I stopped her just before she tried to smear it on the carpet.

This week:
I was getting dinner ready.
Alena was content in the swing.
I heard Luci open the pantry door (not an unusual occurrence).
Luci came into the kitchen with a look of concern.
Her sun dress was covered with some brownish-substance.
My first instinct - she vomited.
I looked into the living room and I saw a puddle of that brown substance.
Still thinking - she vomited.
Then I noticed the bottle of SYRUP by the kitchen table!!!

I wonder what next week will present...

A gift for myself...

2011-06-04T19:25:00.002-04:00

I hate the summer with my hair -

If I wear it curly, it's a frizzy mess.

If I try to straighten it - I am a sweaty mess during the process, and then the result isn't all that great.

So - I treated myself to the Brazilian Blowout - a protein treatment that makes hair silky , shiny, and smooth for 4 months.

No more flat-iron, no more frizz, no more sweating - I am so happy!

May 2011 - Alena 1 month

2011-05-30T15:33:00.003-04:00

This was definitely a trying month - a serious roller coaster of emotions. It has been a little harder than I expected - but not in terms of taking care of the little ones - I have found myself feeling guilty about everything. As a result - have realized a few things:

1. Having a baby this time of year (at least after having 1 child already) is NOT a good idea. When I had Luci, it was easier to get through the summer. Now, it kills me when Luci asks me to go outside, go swimming, go on the swings, etc - because the reality is that I don't want to take Alena out in this heat. Therefore, I think that it is smarter to have a baby in the fall or winter - that way the little one is older by the time summer comes along, which would make outings MUCH easier!

2. When we try for #3 - we will wait until Alena is at least 2 years old before we even start trying to get pregnant. That way, Luci will be in school and Alena will (hopefully) be out of the "terrible two's" phase, which would make things much easier.

Now onto the kids:

Alena gave me the best night yet just last night - she nursed at 10:30pm and then didn't wake up until 5am! It was the best gift ever! I just hope that she doesn't go back to ever 3 hours again tonight.

I have started pumping a little just to get Alena used to taking a bottle, which she has done without any problems - thank goodness! I have a friend whose baby refused a bottle and therefore went a week without eating while my friend was at work.

Although I have been feeling guilty about not being able to do the things with Luci that I typically would be able to do - she is really good. She'll play quietly by herself with her toys or read books to herself when I can't play with her. She'll even bring puzzles or books over to me when I am nursing Alena, which I love. Plus - she is so sweet with her little sister.

We had a crazy weekend - I decided to venture out on Saturday and take the girls to Gabi's soccer game and then to the pool for a little. Saturday's weather was not bad at all and Alena really enjoyed being outside for a while. Sunday was a different story - we had a graduation party to go to - and I was a little too over-confident after how well Saturday went. Sunday's weather was crazy hot and and crazy humid - and the baby was NOT happy. Not to mention that John has been unfortunately MIA for the past month due to getting the pool ready to open after teaching all day, and since this weekend was opening weekend, he couldn't come with me to anything. Thank God for my parents - they are my saviors! They saw how overwhelmed I was yesterday with feeling split between the 2 girls, and offered to take Luci to a picnic today. Although I was supposed to go to the picnic too, today is hotter and more humid than yesterday and I didn't think that the baby could handle the weather again.

Here's hoping that next month will be a more emotionally stable month for me!

Lost the Lombardi Trophy...

2011-05-25T09:33:00.003-04:00

...but won the Mirror Ball Trophy!Yeah Hines!

Fluke or New Pattern?

2011-05-24T12:28:00.002-04:00

Alena gave me a 4 1/2 stretch last night - TWICE!

I am hoping that this is going to be her new nightly pattern,
but I have a feeling that it was a fluke.

Chunky Monkey!

2011-05-18T16:05:00.007-04:00

That is what Alena is! We went for her 2 week check-up yesterday and we all (the pediatrician included) were amazed with her weight:

Birth weight - 8 lbs, 2 oz.
2 wk weight - 9 lbs, 4 oz.

I guess there are no issues with nursing. Actually, I have to cut her off at 20 minutes each feeding because she sucks so fast that she was spitting up a little more than I liked. Luci did the exact same thing.

Nights are more routine now - Alena will wake up around 2-2:30am and then again at 5-5:30am. Not too bad for 2 weeks old. I am just hoping that she will start with longer spans soon - yeah, I know - keep hoping!

Other than that - things are going very well. Luci has adjusted to Alena better than I had ever hoped. She loves her little sister so much - she is always concerned about her whereabouts, why she's crying, which boob she is feeding from, etc. One less thing for me to worry about!

We are all amazed at how much Alena looks like Luci - the only exception is that Alena's hair is a little darker.

Luci:

Alena:

Here are more pictures.

The First Week

2011-05-11T10:29:00.003-04:00

I survived the first week of having a newborn and a toddler at home. Although I knew that it was going to be a challenge, I am impressed with how quickly I have adapted.

I will admit - I had a mini-breakdown the day that I came home from the hospital. I was just overwhelmed - with Luci and a scheduled C-Section, everything was done. I didn't have to come home to loads of laundry, I had everything ready and set up for the baby. This time around, however, I never expected Alena to come a week early - actually I thought that I was going to have to wait till my scheduled C-Section at 41 weeks. As a result, I was not 100% ready to bring home an infant. I was afraid that post-partum depression was setting in, but I got over it pretty quickly.

John was home all last week, which posed a challenge for me with Luci because she wanted to be with him at all times. And he wanted to get things done around the house - mow the lawn, wash the cars, fix things, etc. Now that he is back at school, Luci, Alena, and I are getting into a little routine which is working out very nicely.

I am very spoiled to have my Mom 10 minutes away. She comes by everyday and helps out. She mainly distracts Luci so that I can rest or focus on Alena when I need to. My parents have been providing tons of food and support - and I don't know if they will ever know how much I appreciate them!

Nights with Alena have been variable - Sunday night I didn't get to sleep until 3:30am, but she slept till 7:30am. Monday night, she was only up at 1:30am and 4:30am to nurse, then woke at 8:00am for the day. Last night, she was only up once at 2:30am, but it lasted for about 2 hours - all she wanted to do was nurse, then she was up at 7:00am.

She is starting to do what Luci did when she was an infant - those cluster feedings in the evening. This is what I used to refer to as the "feeding frenzy." I don't mind that she does this as long as I can have spurts of sleep through the night.

Now for the results of C-Section vs vaginal birth. Both have their own ouch-factor for sure. I was so uncomfortable when I first got home that I briefly thought that maybe I had made a mistake about being so insistent on a VBAC. But now that a week has gone by, I feel much better and I know that I made the right decision.

Strangely enough the weight has melted away already this time around. I gained the same amount with both pregnancies, but I have already lost a significant amount of weight. I weigh 3 pounds less today than I did when I decided to go on Weight Watchers 8 months post-partum with Luci - crazy, huh?

Once I get more organized, I will start posting more pictures - we took a ton in one short week, so it will take some time to get through them.

We only produce girls

2011-05-02T20:26:00.006-04:00

So I only progressed to 5cm by 5:45am.
My water broke a little, so my doctor helped that situation.
By 7:50am I was 9 cm dilated, but it took a while to get to 10cm.

I started pushing at 10am.
I had a great nurse and a really good family medicine resident with me (in addition to John).
BTW - John did great!

The 4 of us had a good time in between contractions - joking, laughing, and chatting.
They were AWESOME - so encouraging and nice.
I pushed for about an hour and a half - and she was here!

Alena Mazurek (pronounced "a - LANE - a") - people keep asking!

Born 11:27am
8 lbs, 2 oz
20 inches long

So happy about a successful VBAC!!

Just for a refresher - my dad now has 3 daughters and 6 granddaughters!
PS - Luci loves her so much already!

No false alarm now!

2011-05-02T04:09:00.002-04:00

Started with STRONG contractions at 11:30pm.
Every 3-5 minutes for an hour.
Boy did those hurt!

Called the doctor again - said to return to hospital.
Contractions got worse -- OUCH!!!!
4cm dilated at 2am.

Epidural at 3am.

God bless anesthesia!

Feeling good and waiting to be checked again.

False alarm!

2011-05-01T20:45:00.003-04:00

Woke up at 5:00am and couldn't fall back to sleep.

Contractions at 5:30, 5:40, 5:50
Then anywhere from every 7-14 minutes for the next 4 hours.

All of a sudden, they were every 5 minutes and strong.
Called the doctor, told to go to hospital to get checked.

Contractions every 3 minutes while on monitor,
checked out by doctor - still 1.5 cm.

Encouraged to walk around,
which I did for about an hour or so.

Still contracting, but they didn't feel as strong as earlier.
Re-checked - no progress.

Sent home. Contractions stopped.

Bummer!

April 2011

2011-04-30T21:05:00.000-04:00

Our little girl continues to amaze us daily.

She is starting to speak in full sentences, and can even count to 12 and sing her ABC's (not perfectly, but pretty darn close!). She repeats EVERYTHING - which means we are trying to be on our best behavior in terms of which words we are choosing when talking to each other. She follows conversations that are not directed toward her or that do not include her, so we have to be extra careful!

She has made lots of friends. I take her to a Mom's group through our church when I can, and she loves playing with those kids. There are a few neighborhood friends who she recognizes and runs to when she sees them out and about.

This was a very busy month. We celebrated many birthdays - mine, my sister's, my twin nieces', John's grandmother's, Luci's, and John's.All of this in addition to going to a princess tea hosted at my old high school, multiple Easter egg hunts,and Easter.

We even had the pleasure of my dad's sister from Italy to visit us for the past month. It was great to watch as Luci built a relationship with her Great Aunt.

We have been trying to prepare Luci for the arrival of the new baby by slowing introducing new things to her. For instance, a few weeks ago, I put the infant car seat in the car, then I set up the swing, and just this afternoon I set up the pack-n-play. When you ask her who those are for, she answers "new baby," who she now insists is a brother.

Here are more pictures from the past month.

Something's Happening!

2011-04-28T11:45:00.002-04:00

****Some of this content may seem like TMI for some people - sorry!***

So we just got back from a doctor's appointment (now 38+ weeks), and I am excited to report that I am 1.5 cm dilated. I know that this probably isn't really all that significant, but I never dilated with Luci, plus the doctor felt the head, so we are assured that this one is in the correct position.

I actually thought that Sunday night was the night. All 3 of us were lying on the couch together watching "Toy Story 3" when I felt a pretty strong contraction. I have been getting Braxton Hicks contractions for weeks now, but this was definitely different. I didn't say anything, looked at the clock and noted the time. 10 minutes later I had another one, even stronger. But then that was it. Bummer.

My plan is to still proceed with a VBAC (vaginal birth after C-Section). All of my doctors feel as though I am a great candidate for this due to the fact that I never had a chance to labor with Luci with her being breech and therefore a scheduled C-Section. So I am giving myself the maximum amount of time to go into labor on my own and didn't schedule my C-Section until May 17th (41 weeks).

I have been going on walks frequently in hopes of inducing labor. My neighborhood is all hills, and I try to walk pretty briskly up them. My neighbors probably think that I am crazy, but I don't care. I am still working too. Although, the swelling of my lower extremities has just started. I was swelling way earlier with Luci, and couldn't even wear my rings at this point with her, but this time is not nearly as bad.

Hopefully something will be happening sooner than later!

Happy 2nd Birthday Luci!

2011-04-23T19:00:00.008-04:00

My little girl is 2 today - hard to believe!

We had her birthday party today and it was a total success!

I wasn't about to have people at my house at 38 weeks pregnant - call me lazy, I don't care. So we opted to have a a little place that is basically one big play room for kids. The kids loved it - they never stopped all afternoon and the adults enjoyed watching them have so much fun. I thought for sure that Luci would crash in the car on the way home and then take a good 2-3 hour nap - WRONG! She did fall asleep in the car, for the last 15 minutes of the ride - and that was it! I even tried to take her for a walk around the neighborhood, which usually works. But after an hour of pushing the stroller up our hills, I was done, and her eyes weren't even heavy. So we are hoping that she will crash tonight instead.

Happy Birthday Angel!

Plug your ears!

2011-04-11T18:32:00.002-04:00

My little girl can scream!

Cake Monster

2011-04-01T20:37:00.002-04:00

March 2011

2011-03-31T15:38:00.003-04:00

We are in full transition mode right now. Luci is officially out of the nursery and is in her new room, in a big girl bed. It's been about 2 weeks now, and it has gone very well. She has mastered the art of climbing out of the foot of the bed and running down the hall to our room. The first week, this was occurring at 2am, but now it has moved later into the morning around 6:30 or 7, which is much better!

Her vocabulary is exploding. She says full sentences now and more people understand what she is saying. For a while, there were certain words that she would say that only John and I really understood, but now they are so much clearer - I am really impressed with how fast this has developed.

Potty training has taken a major halt. We encourage her to sit on her seat before every bath, but since someone different has her every morning, there has been no consistency with that visit to the bathroom. I am not really concerned at this time because I am sure that the arrival of the baby is going to throw a wrench in any sort of progress that we make - so I am just going to keep working on it a little at a time.

She has now become obsessed with Disney. We have been watching some of the movies lately (Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, Princess and the Frog, Enchanted, Toy Story, and now Tangled). Her favorite is Snow White. Her cousins went to Disney World this month and came home with an early birthday present - a Snow White costume. It will come in handy this weekend because my old high school is hosting a Princess Tea and then the twins are having a Princess birthday party in a few weeks, so we look forward to dressing her up in it!

We have a very month ahead of us, and I will keep you all updated on the status of #2!

Here are pictures from the last month.

Nap Time

2011-03-28T13:12:00.004-04:00

She unfolded her Elmo couch,

crawled in,

wanted me to zip her up,

got comfy,

and fell asleep.

I love nap time!

What's your name?

2011-03-21T15:38:00.002-04:00

Making Room - Part 2

2011-03-17T17:48:00.004-04:00

I posted in January about my plans on making room for the baby - here is the follow-up.

I had first mentioned about moving Luci to her new room.
The queen bed is gone, the twin bed is in.
The furniture has been rearranged.
We just need to fill the walls.
Here is what it looks like so far:
This picture isn't the best, but the walls are a bright green, and there is bright green in the bedding along with the various shades of pink.

The second part of the project was making room for all the toys.
John's cousin came and took the pieces of furniture that we felt that we really didn't need.
We did keep a few things, like a love seat for some seating and an antique desk that was given to us as a wedding gift.
Here is what it looks like now invaded by toys:
There is just so much more room in there for Luci to play, which we all love.

Slowly but surely - we are getting ready for baby #2!

Feeling pretty big!

2011-03-13T20:27:00.005-04:00

So we're 32 weeks along - and I am feeling even bigger than I was the morning of my C-Section with Luci.

Oh well - I have to admit - I did not exercise this time.

When I was pregnant with Luci, I had all the time in the world since I didn't have another child to take care of, so swimming 3-4 times a week was no problem.

Now - with an extremely active toddler, and a husband who doesn't come home till late due to coaching - finding time to get to a pool proved to be a trying task. Add on the exhaustion of working and pregnancy - I gave up trying. So I am sure that have gained a little more than before.

Here is a picture of me at 32 weeks with Luci:

Here is a picture of me at 32 weeks now:

Like the little protrusion at my belly button? Yep, Luci gave me an umbilical hernia, which has grown during this pregnancy - so a hernia repair is certainly in my future, but hopefully I can hold off until we are sure about the number of kids we want (we always talked about 3, we will see how we do with 2 and then be sure).

I think that I am carrying lower this time too - with Luci being frank breech - she remained up pretty high the entire time. During my last visit to the doctor, she thought that this one was vertex already, but wasn't 100% sure yet.

Hopefully, this one will cooperate!

January-February 2011

2011-02-28T16:14:00.003-05:00

We started out the New Year savoring the last available moments at the restaurant. We would go there to eat, pack up food, and just enjoy being there together for the last time. It was really sad, but my parents are thrilled to be retired now!

Luci is little miss independent now. She insists on doing everything by herself - eating, dressing, even changing her diaper - we know what her limits are, even if she doesn't. She actually does a really good job at dressing herself, it impresses me. She even tries to choose her outfits, but I have to intervene when they don't match, but she doesn't mind too much.

The funniest thing about her is how she refers to herself. If you break up her name, she can clearly say "lou" and "see" but when you ask her to say "Luci" it comes out "Dee Dee." It's hilarious. So when you are trying to buckle her in her seat, she points to herself and says "Dee Dee" to tell us that she wants to do it herself.

She loves to sing and dance for us too. She puts on a little show for us every night before and after her bath where John and I have to sit on the floor, watch her, and clap for her when she finishes. I can't wait to enroll her in a dance school - she will be very entertaining at a recital.

I am not sure how much she really understands that a little baby is going be to invading her space in the next 2 months. We almost finished her new room, and she loves to go in there and lay on her new bed. For now, she is still in the nursery - but we intend to move her within the next month just to get her used to the new space before the baby is here so that she doesn't associate the move with the baby. She should transition well - the 2 times we have left her all night with my parents' she slept all night in a twin bed with bed rails without any problems.

We are really looking forward to next couple of months - lots of birthdays to celebrate (including Luci's 2nd), Easter, and of course the new baby's arrival!

Here are pictures from the past 2 months.

Very Slowly...

2011-02-21T09:20:00.004-05:00

...that's how I intend to potty train Luci.

She has been really good about running up to me with a diaper and wipes even before I realize that she pooped, or she will just call out "DI-PA" and I know that I need to change her.

So I decided just to get her interested in sitting on the potty.

I started about 2 weeks ago with having her sit on the potty seat after her morning milk (because she usually poops within 5 minutes of finishing), and then again right before her bath. She liked sitting on it because Elmo is all over it, but nothing ever happened.

Until last night. Before her bath, she tinkled a little while on the seat, and of course we make a big deal about it to let her know that she should continue to do that. Then again this morning, I sat on the seat after her milk, and sure enough - she pooped!

I am not going to push this on her too forcefully because I am afraid that she will digress once the baby comes, so we are just going ahead slowly.

PS - sorry about the potty-post, but this is what excites me these days!

Quit - cold turkey

2011-02-13T20:55:00.003-05:00

Luci has been a thumb sucker since she was in utero (she came out with blood blisters on her hands/wrists due to sucking in there!).

I was never too concerned about it - it was a great soother for her.

Well last weekend when she had a stomach virus, I noticed that when she would put her thumb in her mouth, she would then immediately remove it and frantically wipe it over and over again with her other hand.

This continued through the earlier part of the week. Then I also noticed that when she would go to put her thumb in her mouth, she would pull her hand down at the last minute to not suck her thumb.

Now, she is practically broken of the habit --- ALL.BY.HERSELF!!!!

We did bust her with her thumb in her mouth in the middle of her nap today, but that didn't last too long.

There is a downside - getting her to fall asleep for naps or nighttime is not as easy anymore because she doesn't have her thumb to soothe her anymore.

My little girl is growing up TOO fast!

Not-so Super Bowl

2011-02-07T11:58:00.003-05:00

You'd think that I am talking about the Steelers loss - but I'm not.

How would you like it if you were a die hard Steeler fan and paid a good amount of money for a trip of a lifetime just to get to the stadium to find out that your seats were not complete and didn't meet code.

That is exactly what happened to John and his Dad.

Here is an article in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette explaining what happened.

Hopefully they own up to their promise about compensation.

BTW - I was at home with Luci all alone because she was vomiting all day - not so super for me either.

Making Room

2011-01-29T13:58:00.002-05:00

With another bundle of joy on the way, we have been trying to figure out ways to make a little more room in our house for the baby stuff that we need to dig out again (i.e. pack-n-play, swing, bouncy seat, etc.).

First off - Luci's new room.

We are keeping the nursery as is. The bedding we got when we were pregnant with Luci is gender-neutral in a yellow room, so we have no desire to change it at all. Our other 2 spare rooms have been an office and a guest bedroom since we have been living here.

The guest bedroom was a fluke because all the furniture was given to us: queen-size mattress, box spring, bed frame, head board, dresser with mirror, and night stand. One of John's buddy's parents was getting all new bedroom furniture right after we got married and we inherited their old stuff - which was actually really nice. This is now going to be Luci's new room - however, I didn't think that a queen-sized bed was necessary for a toddler. Fortunately, a friend who I work with just bought a house and is in desperate need of spare beds - so we gave her the bed from that room. The rest of the furniture remains, and Luci's twin bed is being delivered on Tuesday!

Next step - find space for all.the.toys!

Our family room is narrow, but we were able to comfortably fit all the baby things in the room without feeling too cramped when we had Luci. However, we have accumulated so many toys since storing all of that stuff that we now know we need to make additional room.

We also have a living room, which is right off of the family room. The furniture in that room was also all given to us by a friend's parents. In there now are: a love seat, 2 wing-backed chairs, an end table, and a coffee table. We have offered some of the furniture to one of John's cousins who recently got a new place. So we are giving him the chairs and the coffee table. Now we will be able to fill the long wall of that room with all of the Luci's toys - thus clearing out our family room to make space for the baby stuff.

Phew!

It's funny how things change - when we first got married, we were in such a hurry to fill the rooms to make the house feel like our home. And now that we are growing - I can't wait to get rid of the furniture that was so generously given to us to make room for TOYS? What's wrong with the picture?

Pittsburgh's Going to the Superbowl!

2011-01-25T14:12:00.007-05:00

and so is my husband!

Game tickets at face-value, staying with family in Dallas - this is going to be one of the cheapest Superbowl trips!

Oh yeah - he's not taking me! He's going to bond with his Dad!

Dancing Queen

2011-01-13T12:58:00.002-05:00

The music is in her head!

Silly Mama!

2011-01-09T19:34:00.002-05:00

I did as instructed by my 20-month-old!

La Befana comes again

2011-01-07T18:39:00.006-05:00

A few years ago, I posted about the significance of the Epiphany in the Italian tradition and in my family.

My sisters and I have continued this custom with our little ones. It's fun to see our kids excited about a tradition that we celebrated when we were young.

Here is what Luci woke up to the other morning:

She LOVES it - a Handy Manny plush toy. She even sleeps with him.

November-December 2010

2011-01-01T11:44:00.007-05:00

I slacked off last month with updates and photos - but I am catching up now.

Thanksgiving and Christmas were the obvious highlights of the last 2 months, but here are some others:

Luci's new obsession is coloring. She absolutely loves it. I bought her all sorts of coloring books, which can keep her occupied while I pay bills, cook, eat, they are even a lifesaver in church! She definitely doesn't color inside the lines, but I am happy that she is interested in it at all.

I know that I have mentioned in other posts about my family's Thursday night dinners at my parents' house. Well, lately the girls have started a new trend where they raid my old bedroom, find the old gloves scarves, hats, etc. that we used when we were at home, dress up in them, and then parade around the house. They even make Nonno a part of the fun.

We celebrated Pappy's birthday before Thanksgiving, and then again on Thanksgiving, which Luci loved, because she so enjoys blowing out the candles on birthday cakes, whether its hers or someone else's.

My old high school hosts an annual Breakfast with Santa, which we always attend. Although Luci wasn't too keen on sitting on Santa's lap this year, we did get pretty close. She put on a show for everyone there while she danced and jumped to the carolers' singing. She even got comfy on the back of the camel and cow on the big Nativity display.

My sisters and I have always made out-out cookies for Christmas, and we have carried on the tradition with our girls too now. Although they are not the prettiest cookies, we sure do have a lot of fun making them!

We all know that Luci is a thumb-sucker, and she hated the pacifier as a baby. Well now she has developed a new liking to the chee-chee (which is how we always referred to the pacifier). But the funny thing is that the only 2 places where she ever asks for it is at my Mom's house or my Aunt Anna's house - no where else. What can I say? She has a mind of her own.

The holidays were great - filled with family, food and presents - too many presents almost! I think that I am going to have to clear out a room just for toys. We'll see how that turns out.

Finally, we celebrated the last supper at my parents' restaurant New Years' Eve, which was very bittersweet. We all ate together as a big family for an early dinner. Then the husbands left with the all the girls, and my sisters and I stayed to help out with a busy evening. My parents' went out with a bang!

Here are more pictures.

Half-way to #2!

2010-12-20T14:42:00.002-05:00

We are expecting again and we couldn't be more excited!

Today marks 20 weeks, so 20 more to go! We went for the ultrasound last weekend and everything looks good. Here are the stats:

Due date: May 12th
Sex: didn't find out
Names: not saying (and actually haven't discussed it too much yet)

I still hear that we are mean and selfish - but it's not like WE know what the sex is and are just keeping it from the general public. The way I look at it is like this: there are so few good surprises in life, that we may as well embrace this one. There was nothing like hearing "it's a girl" when Luci was born, and I can't wait to experience that again.

Non-stop!

2010-12-11T19:22:00.002-05:00

"Ru-Ru" "Frossy" "Ru-Ru" "Frossy" Ru-Ru" "Frossy"

Seriously! It's like they are on a continuous loop on our TV.

End of an Era

2010-12-04T17:52:00.003-05:00

New Years' Eve will mark the final day that my parents will own their restaurant.

This is a very bitter sweet event - my parents need and deserve a break (after 40 years of running the place), yet it is all that we have known our whole lives and has become a second home to us.

Saying good-bye is going to a tough task. But we will stay strong for our parents, because this is what they want and they are very happy with their decision.

My sisters and I can't even put into words the gratitude that we have toward our parents for everything that they have done for us through our lives, and most of it is because of the restaurant - the parties, the showers, and of course ALL OF THE FREE FOOD!

We are so proud of them for making such a difficult decision, but we all know that it is for the best.

It is time to say good-bye.

The Miracle Continues...

2010-11-17T18:49:00.002-05:00

My friend who survived that traumatic complication during her delivery this summer is now HOME!

She still has a journey in front of her, but she is working hard with her family and therapists, and she is even walking with assistance.

I still can't believe that I am able to report such great news...thank you all for your prayers.

There is no doubt in my mind that the power of prayer has kept my friend alive.

October 2010

2010-10-31T20:30:00.009-04:00

Another busy month, filled with:

the pumpkin patch,

a church festival,

Nonno's birthday,

Great Babci's birthday, and of course Halloween!Luci is doing great, as always - keeping us on our toes. Her vocabulary has really seemed to take off this past month. Her favorite words are stuck, Gabi, Nonno, baby, shoe, please, and thank you. She even puts together small sentences like "I want more," "Where are you?," and even "I love you." Of course, these are not perfectly pronounced, but we know what she is saying.

Here are pictures from the rest of the month.

Like Mother, Like Daughter?

2010-10-27T17:26:00.002-04:00

I admit, I like to multi-task - but at least I do it clothed.

A little improvising...

2010-10-26T17:23:00.002-04:00

Can you tell whose jersey this originally was?

Officially DONE!

2010-10-21T15:40:00.000-04:00

Backsplash complete - our kitchen is FINALLY and OFFICIALLY done!

A little humor

2010-10-19T21:22:00.003-04:00

What's wrong here?

Room to breathe!

2010-10-08T12:19:00.003-04:00

My part time status started last week.

Needless to say - it's great!

I now have time to clean, cook, spend quality time with Luci, socialize a little, even relax -
- without feeling overwhelmed.

Thank goodness for part time!

September 2010

2010-09-30T20:14:00.002-04:00

We had a busy month which started with 3 different Labor Day Parties. We are popular people! Luci loves spending time with her family and friends, especially her cousins. She has learned to say "Gabi," but she refers to all the girls as "Gabi." She tries to get out the other names, but they are not as clear as "Gabi."

She now says "nummy nums" when she is hungry. And when she is really enjoying a meal, she says "Mmmmm" while she is turning her finger back and forth on her cheek - it's adorable. She is such a good eater too - especially cantaloupe - it's her favorite!

We had fun when some of our friends came over for an evening with their 2 kids. Mirabella is 3 and Beck is only 6 months older than Luci, and they all play together so well - we have so much fun together. We already have Beck and Luci set up for the prom!

I apologize for my lack of posts - it's just been a busy month.

Here are more pictures.

New Obsession

2010-09-25T10:47:00.005-04:00

Our TV seems like it is permanently glued on either the Disney Channel or Spout. I am so used to the kiddie shows and I actually look forward to some of them.

There is one in particular that John and I love:

Phineas and Ferb.

It's hilarious - if you haven't watched it yet - try to catch it.
You won't be disappointed!
_________________________________

It's pretty pathetic that I am admitting my love for a cartoon, isn't it?

Church Booting

2010-09-12T11:08:00.002-04:00

Going to church with a toddler is a challenge.

We have been taking Luci to church since she was 10 days old. My theory: get the kids used to the dynamics of church so that they learn to behave earlier.

I will admit, there are times when she gets a little restless and/or rambunctious and John or I will take her out for a short period of time. I refuse to take her to the cry room because the kids there can be pretty bad and I don't want her to get used to that kind of behavior at church.

Luci had a really bad night last night - all 4 eye teeth are coming in at the same time, which makes for really restless nights.

She was great this morning, so we headed to 9:00 mass as usual. She was fine - that is until the homily. For some weird reason, she felt the need to take her shoes off - then proceeded to try to put them back on again - and got pretty frustrated when she failed.

Like I said before - there have been times when John or I have needed to take her out in the past. Although we were nearing that point today, we weren't quite there yet.

And then it happened -

In the middle of his homily, I hear the priest say "Okay, I think that she's had enough." I look up to see the entire congregation looking at us - we were humiliated. John promptly took her to the back.

I sat through the rest of mass FUMING! Here's why:

A few months ago, Luci was being a little fussy - again borderlining on going out. Well, then I smelled it - so John grabbed a diaper and the wipes and headed out. In the middle of the homily, the same priest shouts - "oh don't take her out - she's fine!"

MAKE UP YOUR MIND DUDE!

I swear - she was not being THAT distracting - I know when enough is enough at church. I was just so mortified that he felt the need to do that to us in church.

I got a lot of sympathetic looks from friends, and even a phone call from one when we got home.

We have heard about many parishioners leaving our parish because of this priest's antics - now we know why!

August 2010

2010-08-31T12:28:00.000-04:00

The month started off great at the beach - we had a wonderful vacation, as I posted earlier.

Luci continues to amaze me daily. She is just so full of energy and always is on the go. The change in our kitchen really peaked her interest. She found a new cabinet and made herself at home. (BTY - I still don't know what to put in this cabinet).

I have yet to cut her hair, or take her to get her hair cut. I really don't wait to deal with bangs and the maintenance of bangs, so I am letting them grow out. Right now I am in a phase that is really annoying - hair in her face. I do put bows in her hair (as you have seen in pictures), but I have to sneak them in when she is busy doing something else - because once she knows it's there - she rips it out and throws it on the floor. My new solution is giving her mini-pony and piggy tails. We'll see how long this lasts.

I organized a reunion for some of my friends who all swam and life guarded together back when we were in high school. It was a blast - we ate, swam, hung out - it was a great day. We had so much fun catching up and meeting every one's families. We hope to do it again next year, with a better turn out! Luci had fun with my friends' accessories - as you can see here!

Here are pictures from the last month.

WE DID IT!

2010-08-27T22:21:00.000-04:00

It's done...well almost.

Just the backsplash is left to do, and I am in no hurry at this point.

This is why I have been slacking on my posts...my house has been a mess,

boxes everywhere,

no countertops,

plain NO.FUN!

Until today, that is!

As you can see, we:

reconfigured the layout,

added a bar to the peninsula,

got rid of the bulk head,

and got new lighting.

Here are before and afters:

Recovering

2010-08-23T19:21:00.004-04:00

I apologize on not updating you on my friend.

She has made remarkable progress over the past couple of weeks!

She now responds to people and is even able to mouth some words. Her husband says that she does know and understand what happened.

Right now, she is in a specialty unit of the hospital for those recovering from strokes, but she is being transferred to a rehab facility later this week - a major accomplishment!

Thanks to all of you for your prayers!

Another good read

2010-08-14T11:36:00.002-04:00

A friend gave me this book on vacation:I really enjoyed it - it spans a friendship over 3 decades. I highly recommend it.

I just started Eat, Pray, Love. Again, I want to read it before I see the movie. Report to follow...

OBX 2010

2010-08-09T13:22:00.007-04:00

We had a great week at the beach. The only day that was crappy was our arrival day. The rest of the trip was sunny and hot.

Luci loved it! She is going to be a beach babe for sure!

Here are some highlights:

She made a new friend.

The water was COLD!

We brought our blow-up pool.

She relaxed in the shade.

Here are more pictures!

July 2010

2010-07-26T13:00:00.008-04:00

She is CRAZY!

That's how I describe her. Luci is non-stop - dancing, singing, running, climbing - there's no end. Her energy level is so high - I find it hard to keep up with her at times. I call her my monkey.

We finally joined a pool by our house, and she is loving it. We go swimming all the time - as long as it's nice when I get home from work - I pack her up and go. I love having that time with her. She is fearless in the water too - putting her face in, blowing bubbles, splashing around, even going under water.

She is starting to eat with a fork. She is insistent on being independent when it comes to using it. She needs help with spearing the food, but she is able to get it into her mouth without a problem.

The addition of little Gemma has made this past month exciting. Luci loves her. When she sees her, she extends her arms and repeats "baba, baba." And of course she licks her all over to give her kisses. It's adorable.

We had a rough patch earlier this month at night. Luci would wake up screaming in the middle of the night. The only thing that would calm her would be to let her sleep in our bed. This lasted for about 2 weeks - 4 molars coming in at once! Now they finally broke through the gums, she sleeps through the night again...thank goodness!

We are so excited for our vacation coming up - first trip to the beach!

Here are pictures from the last month!

Update

2010-07-26T12:56:00.002-04:00

My friend seems to be beating all the odds.

She has been extubated and is responding a little more everyday.

The big problem is her anoxic brain injury - which basically refers to the period of time when her brain was deprived of oxygen.

Medically, I know this is not usually very promising in terms of recovery - but she is making such big improvements so quickly that I really think that we are witnessing a miracle.

Please keep your prayers coming - I really believe they are being heard!

Thanks!

Summer reading

2010-07-19T11:22:00.003-04:00

I just finished Charlie St. Cloud.

You may recognize the title because the movie is premiering soon and the trailers have been on TV.

I wanted to read the book before I saw the movie.

It was really good - I highly recommend it.

It ironically coincides with the situation that we are in with my friend - you'd have to read it to see.

Hope that the movie is as good as the book.

Still in need

2010-07-17T08:27:00.002-04:00

Although my friend has survived an occurrence which takes most mothers' lives within the first hour, she is still fighting for her life. She has been transferred to a neuro ICU, and her husband has been getting contradicting prognoses - one hopeful, one pretty grim.

We still need every one's prayers - please remember my friend in yours!

A request

2010-07-12T09:10:00.002-04:00

A very close friend of mine had MAJOR complications during childbirth over the weekend. She is stable, but not out of the woods yet.

Please include her in your prayers.

PS Her baby is fine.

Fireworks - a little early

2010-07-04T10:37:00.004-04:00

So yesterday was a big day.

We were taking John's mom out to dinner

for her birthday.

And Marina was contracting,

so she headed to the hospital.

Therefore I made a plan:

1. Stop at Walgreens for cards.

2. Stop at Oakmont Bakery for the cake.

3. Drop Luci off at my aunt's in Shadyside.

4. Drop cake off at the restaurant.

5. Go to hospital to see Marina for a little

6. Go back the restaurant for dinner

7. Go back to the hospital

I got as far as #2.

When I wanted to leave the bakery,

my car wouldn't start.

I went back into the bakery and found someone with jumper cables

I ended up having 2 different groups of people helping me.

I was able to get some juice from the jumps,

just not enough to get the car going.

So a Good Samaritan (seriously) came by -

he drove to an Advanced Auto shop,

bought a battery,

came back to the bakery,

and installed it.

I didn't have enough cash on me,

so he just gave me his card,

and trusted me to send him a check.

It 's so nice to know that there are
people like that in this world.

--------------------------------

In other news - my niece arrived!

Her name is Gemma

12:48am - 4th of July baby!

7 lbs, 7 oz.

June 2010

2010-06-30T20:30:00.010-04:00

Her personality is starting to shine through more and more.

Luci loves to kiss people - but the way that she does it is classic:

she tilts her little head up toward the sky, sticks out her tongue, and licks. I love the affection, but little boys do not - they actually run away from her - it's precious.

She finally swam for the first time out of the bath tub. SHE CAN'T GET ENOUGH! She had no fear - seriously. She waddles around in the baby pool - she has even slipped a few times and has gone under, but never got scared. One time, she found her footing, stood back up on her own, and acted like nothing happened. We usually go to Nonni's or Aunt Dani's pools as guests, and sometimes we take advantage of Daddy's summer job and go to his pool too. Next year, we are going to join the local swim club. For now Mama bought a blow-up pool and we have fun in the back yard!

She is totally a girlie-girl (unlike her Mama). She is obsessed with shoes, purses, and jewelry. She has a fit if she sees that you have taken your shoes off. She will pick them up and bring them to you and put them back on your feet, all the while saying "SHHH, SHHH!" My guess is that means "shoe."

She continues to eat really well - pretty much anything that we give her. Fruit is by far her favorite - especially grapes. She is also really good about feeding herself with her hands, and doesn't make too much a mess - at times.

We are really enjoying our summer, but we can't wait for vacation to the beach - the biggest excitement is awaiting the arrival of Luci's new baby cousin - any day now.

http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/albumID=4339835009/a=40662473_40662473/

Ali - Episode #6

2010-06-29T09:42:00.004-04:00

The first 30 minutes of last night's episode was the best 30 minutes of any season. The drama was so ridiculous. Justin was outed by his girlfriend. Here's what happened:

They all arrived in Turkey. Chris Harrison went to Ali's room to let her know of a "situation" that had come to their attention via Jessie (one of the other rejected girls from Jake's season whom Ali was friends with). They got Jessie on the phone, who then told Ali that Justin had a girlfriend. When Ali questioned how she knew this - Jessie admitted that she was actually with the girlfriend (Jessica) at that moment. So then Jessica got on the phone and proceeded to tell Ali of the scam - that she had been dating Justin for 2 years, that a few months ago he told her that he wanted to go on the show to promote his wrestling career, that he was going to try to make it to the final 3 since they get so much publicity and then leave and then come home to her and marry her. She came forward now because she recently found out that he had been cheating on her with another girl for 2 months, so she wanted to do the honorable thing and let Ali know of his deceit before it got too far.

Ali - obviously pissed - went to the guys room and basically exposed Justin in front of everyone. Without a word, Justin got up and started to leave. When Ali tried to get him to talk to her - he just kept on going saying that he'd be happy to talk to her off-camera. He went outside, trying to leave the hotel grounds, but it seemed as though he was barricaded by the hotel staff and the camera crew, so he had no choice but to sit with Ali and talk to her. He continued to deny everything and then left.

As they showed him walking off, they played messages that he left on Jessica's voicemail while he was on the show. Various quotes included "you are my everything," "I want you to be my wife," "being here makes me realize how much I love you," etc. I can't wait to see if he shows up for the Men Tell All episode.

Other than that - nothing too exciting. Craig was booted, which leaves 5 guys. Next stop is Portugal.

Figures...

2010-06-27T18:01:00.002-04:00

...on the hottest freaking day of the summer --

our AC shits the bed!

I love being hot and sticky -
oh and it's raining, so going outside isn't even an option.

Ali - Episode #5

2010-06-23T18:45:00.002-04:00

The pack arrived in Iceland and the guys found out that they had to write a love poem to Ali, and the best one won a 1-on-1 date with her. Kirk won. But some of the other poems were pretty funny.

The date with Kirk was fine, but Ali felt as though he was holding something back. Then at dinner, Kirk revealed how he became really sick at one point in his life as a result of living in an old house (he basically inhaled asbestos and mold that could have killed him). Of course Ali ate it all up, and he got a rose.

The group date involved riding horse back in the freezing cold and caving. Nothing too exciting here, Ty got the rose.

Next was the dreaded 2-on-1 date where one guy gets a rose and the other goes home. This was with Justin and Casey - there couldn't be two guys who hated each other more. Casey finally showed Ali his tattoo and explained the meaning behind it. Justin was all about the competitiveness of the date and wanted to come out on top...he really didn't seem to care so much about being with Ali. In the end, Ali was of course freaked out by Casey and gave the rose to Justin.

Next week is when the cheater is revealed...Ali gets a phone call and finds out that one of the guys has a girlfriend back home. I wonder who it is....JUSTIN! When will these Bachelors/Bachelorettes figure out that when all of the girls/guys are against one particular girl/guy that there is a reason for it? Seriously - Wes, Vienna, and now Justin - get a clue people!
-------------------------------
New show - The Bachelor Pad. Previous Bachelor and Bachelorette rejects living in a mansion together and at the end of each episode, someone gets voted out of the house. Sounds like it is going to be full of drama!
-------------------------------
In other news - my sister is due in 5 days!

Duh

2010-06-22T19:56:00.001-04:00

Jake and Vienna broke up.

I saw that coming the second he put that ring on her finger.

Ready for my shocked face....

Keep waiting

Ali - Episode #4

2010-06-17T16:06:00.002-04:00

A little late in posting...I know.

They announced that they will traveling around the world for the rest of the season with the first stop being in New York City.

She chose Casey for a 1-on-1 date. Like last week, there were times when I was so embarrassed for him that I couldn't even watch. He would randomly break into song...and with his strange sounding voice, it was painful. And he did this TWICE. Usually during 1-on-1 dates, the guy either gets the rose or gets booted. However, Ali didn't want Casey to go just yet, but she didn't want to give him a rose either. So she told him to be more genuine with his intentions because she felt that he was going too over the top, and he stayed.

The group date was uneventful - the guys auditioned to be an extra with Ali in The Lion King on Broadway. Roberto won - big shocker. But Kirk got the rose.

The next 1-on-1 was with Chris - finally! He is by far my favorite. Ali was feeling ill, so they just stayed in most of the day in her hotel room. Chris brought her soup and flowers. She eventually felt better and they went out. They seemed to make a pretty good connection and he got a rose.

Back in the guys' room - Casey was missing. He ended up going to a tattoo parlor to get a tattoo of a shield, a rose, and a heart - to prove to Ali that he he there to protect her heart. She was already freaked out by him - what made him think that this wouldn't freak her out anymore?

In the end - Casey never got a chance to show her the tattoo, although he wanted to and the other guys were really giving him a hard time about it. Jonathan and Jesse were sent home.

Next week, they travel to Iceland.

Passing on traditions...

2010-06-14T09:28:00.000-04:00

I love the Anne of Green Gables series.
Seriously, I love it!

I would watch the tapes over and over again.
I can recite the lines -
through the 7+ hour series.

The other night, I was flipping through the channels
and the first part of the series was on PBS.
Of course, I watch all of it.

Luci climbed up in my lap,
assumed her position:
right thumb in her mouth,
left hand playing with my face.

She was mesmerized - as was I (as always).
The story is so compelling,
and the scenery is so beautiful.

I have always wanted to go to Prince Edward Island,
I am going to go - with Luci - one day.

It's hard to believe that I didn't steal those tapes from my Mom.
However, there is a box set of 5 DVDs -
guess what my next purchase is going to be!

I just want Luci to grow up loving the series too,
a tradition that should be passed on.

Do it for Gilbert! (Becky and Sarah - that was for you!)

Ali - Episode #3

2010-06-08T17:33:00.002-04:00

I know that I say this every season of The Bachelorette, but the guys are so much worse than the girls...I guess it's male egos gone wild.

Ali had a 1-on-1 with Roberto, who she gave the First Impression rose to on the first night. I really couldn't understand the attraction initially - I wouldn't have looked twice. But he is a nice and genuine guy (at least that is the sense I get from what they air). Of course, he got a rose.

Next was the group date where they made a music video for Bare Naked Ladies new song. Jonathan has officially been thrown off of the top list now...he was so nervous about having to kiss Ali in his scene, that he actually started to cry - can you say LOSER? She got hot and heavy with Kirk in their scene - so much that they continued to make out long after the directer said "cut" - a few times. Obviously, Kirk got the rose on that date.

Then was another 1-on-1 with Hunter. Nice guy, but no chemistry with Ali. It was so awkward that I was almost embarrassed to watch it...no rose for Hunter - he was sent home.

As a fun twist, Justin (the pro-wrestler) decided to hobble (literally - he has a broken ankle and is in a cast, on crutches) to Ali's house to prove to her that he is truly there for her. The other guys have been pretty hard on him about his intentions, so he felt that he needed to prove himself. Was it sincere? Still not 100% sold on that one...I think that it would be great if he ends up being the one with the girlfriend back at home - The Men Tell All episode will be interesting if that's the case!

Chris and Frank are still my favs, and Roberto is inching up on my list too. I can't wait to see what happens with Justin...till next week!

Ali - Episode #2

2010-06-01T21:10:00.002-04:00

I was right about Canadian Craig...big troublemaker. All he wanted to do was get in a fight. His main target was Jonathan, the "weatherman" (who by the way went down on my top list). Although Jonathan did not deserve the attack from psycho-Craig, he was kinda cry-baby about it. Thankfully, Ali listened to Jonathan's warnings and got rid of Craig.

She had a 1-on-1 with Frank, who is so full of energy. He may seem a little over-the-top, but I still like him. And Ali does too...they smooched it up during the date.

The other 1-on-1 was with Jesse - HOT! Not sure how much is actually upstairs, but he is nice to look at!

The group date was uneventful...boys posing in Speedos for charity. Seeing boys in Speedos doesn't phase me, considering I spent half of my life swimming with that.

I forgot to mention the twist from last week. The guys all wrote down the name of someone who they felt was not there for the right reasons. There was an overwhelming vote for Justin, who is a professional wrestler. I guess that other guys thought that maybe he is there to promote his career and is not sincere about his intentions to fall in love with Ali. In the end, Ali had to make the decision to send him home right then and there or to give him a rose, she chose the latter.

I comment on this now because there seems to drama surrounding this whole issue with Justin and his true intentions...I guess we will see it in the future!

May 2010

2010-05-31T19:38:00.006-04:00

Another exciting month in Luci's life.

We finally celebrated her birthday - pictures attached. It was full of family, friends and fun. Couldn't ask for anything more!

She is becoming more vocal now. Her vocabulary extends to "ba-ba" - which could refer to the song "Ba Ba Black sheep" or to saying good-bye if it is accompanied by waving. She points to my nose and says "naaaa" and to her belly button and says "bab bab." She also knows how to roar, quack, and spit when you ask what lions, ducks, and elephants do.

She is eating like a big girl now...feeding herself and loving it. She LOVES cheese and fruit, she can't get enough of either. We weaned her off of the bottle in no time. She drinks milk from a sippy cup that kinda mimics a bottle, but isn't one and she drinks water or juice from a sippy cup with a straw. She also weaned off of breast milk with no problems, so now she is on whole cow's milk.

We tried to go swimming today, but she fell asleep as we pulled into the parking lot of the pool. Then by the time she woke up, it started to thunder. Bummer! So we have yet to get her swimming in a pool, if you can believe it! But she enjoyed running in the rain!

We had many picnics this weekend and we are exhausted!

Here are pictures from this month:
http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=4110737009/a=40662473_40662473/

Pen Pal

2010-05-29T11:04:00.002-04:00

In 5th grade, we had an assignment.
We received messages from another 5th grade class in Delaware.

The messages were distributed to us randomly.

We were required to write one letter.

I wrote mine.

She wrote back.

Her name was Lisa.

We continued throughout grade school.

We still wrote in high school.

We even met a few times.

My family would always vacation in Ocean City, MD.

Lisa's family would vacation in Fenwick Island, DE.

Not too far from each other.

So we got together at ages 12, 15, and 16.

We continued to write in college, and advanced to email.

We talked about school, family, careers, and of course boys!

As we graduated, our communication dwindled,

but we would still keep in touch here and there.

Lisa started to follow my blog

and contacted me a few months ago.

She is married and lives in Virginia.

Then I received an email the other day.

Her husband was in Slippery Rock for work.

She was traveling to see him over the holiday weekend,

and wanted to try to meet up.

So we did...after 16 years!

It was great, Lisa's husband drove down

and we all enjoyed an evening at my parents' restaurant!

---------------------------------------------------------

I dug out some old pictures.

Here we are at age 12 (August 1990) - our first meeting.

Loving the hair aren't you...can you say awkward phase?

Here is August 1993, only 3 years later,

but looking more like ourselves.

This picture includes Lisa's Mom, Marina, me, Lisa, my Mom, and Dani.

The following summer - August 1994.

We were posing for those cheesy telescope pictures.

Laugh all you want...I already did!Finally - May 2010 - still friends after writing for 21 years!

LOVED IT!

2010-05-28T10:59:00.003-04:00

Of course I went on opening day!

Samantha was the hit of the movie...great one-liners!

Ali - Episode #1

2010-05-25T20:17:00.002-04:00

Ah, yes...another season of The Bachlorette - bring on the drama!

The first episode is never exciting...just introductions to the various personalities that will eventually clash later in the season.

My top picks for the season based on first impressions:

Chris (from Cape Cod)

Frank

Jonathan

I think that I had another 1 or 2 that stood out, but that's all I can remember now.

The previews for the season of course show a lot of drama - we have another bad boy (Craig from Canada) who seems to be like David from Jillian's season. And there seems to be a guy there with a girlfriend back home (hmmm...is Wes back?).

Looking forward to Monday nights through the summer!

-----

I haven't peeked at Reality Steve's site yet...I know that he is going to spill the beans about the end...don't know if I want to find out already.

LOST

2010-05-24T10:13:00.002-04:00

I'm sad - it's over!

The finale was great
but still with lingering questions.

It ended with the inevitable - WTF!

As I was trying to fall asleep, I had a revelation -
the ending was very "Sixth Sense"-ish with the characters needing a memory trigger to remember everything and then realize that they were all dead.

What do the fellow Losties think?

Deflated

2010-05-20T15:22:00.000-04:00

Okay, so it's not THAT bad,
but they're gone...and it seems that it happened over night.

Tough Decisions

2010-05-18T09:34:00.002-04:00

It has been do-able-
-working full time and being a Mom.

Do-able, but exhausting.

I guess it wouldn't be so bad
if I didn't wake up at 4 or 4:30 every morning.

For the past few months, I just have not been feeling well.
Tired, tired, tired.

That's not me, and I don't like it.

So John and I talked about it and the decision has been made:
I am going part time starting this Fall.

I think that I will feel more rested.

Therefore, I think that I will be a better wife and mother,
and I will probably appreciate my job more.

Quality of life is just too important to me right now,
and being a Mom (actually, a good Mom) is most important.

Problem solved!

2010-05-10T12:06:00.002-04:00

problem - sour milk odor in my car

solution - baking soda paste spread over the affected area

--------------------------------

I purchased a gallon of whole milk for Luci last week.
I put it in the back of my Jeep, and away I went.

When I opened the back at home, I saw that the gallon had fallen over.
No big deal - happened many times before.

But this time, milk leaked out the top and saturated into the carpet.
When I examined the jug more closely, I noted that the cap was not securely tightened despite the safety seal.

I blotted the area and left the windows open for a few days.
It wasn't until post-incident day #3 that I applied my baking soda mix and Voila! Odor is gone!

------------------------

Lesson learned - always check the cap on the milk jug!

It went -

2010-05-04T12:35:00.002-04:00

but it was WET!

Saturday forecast - rain
Sunday forecast - rain
Monday forecast rain

Saturday actual - sunny
Sunday actual - rain
Monday actual - sunny

Seriously - can I get better luck?

Despite the dreary weather, the party was a hit!

The food was good, the cake was great, and the activities were fun!

I had a pinata for the kids, and I even hired an airbrush tattoo artist (yes, I am crazy). It was hilarious though because the adults got into it as well as the kids.

Luci had a blast and that's all I care about.

Happy 1st Birthday Angel!

A little off the top

2010-04-30T08:31:00.002-04:00

It's bittersweet.

Being done with pumping, I mean.

Sweet - because no more waking 30 minutes earlier, FREEDOM!
Bitter - because I.AM.ENGORGED!

I tapered off, really I did. But I guess my milk supply wasn't ready to be stopped.

I pumped on Tuesday morning, and by last night I was so uncomfortable that I caved.
I took a little off the top - just pumped for 3 minutes - just enough to feel relief.

This morning, I am still okay...hoping that I will be done now.

--------------------

Luci's stats from her last doctor's appointment:

Height - 31.5 inches (97th percentile) She grew 1 whole foot!
Weight - 20 pounds, 12 ounces (50th percentile)

Tall and thin - like her Mama ---> yeah, right!