Don't Blink

Otherwise, you might miss the fact that your 11 month old daughter, stood up, and started pushing a toy-and WALKING. Good grief! I can't do anything with her around! We were outside the other day. Both boys were standing in front of me talking. Next thing I know, I look up and see Annabelle pushing the Dora ride on/push toy. I could barely believe my eyes. Just up and walked that child! And-she walked almost the whole distance of the driveway! Boy was she speedy! It was like she had been doing it forever.

It's only a matter of time now... My baby is growing up. :(

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

Today I celebrated my third Mother's Day! And to think I thought it would never be possible! Amazing when you start to think about it! For Mother's Day, all I wanted was some rose bushes to plant in the front yard. But-not any rose bushes. I wanted ones the kids picked out, or ones that reminded me of the kids. Tony did a good job! He came home with "Easy Going" for Anthony, "Free Spirit" for Nicholas, and "Pretty Lady" for Annabella. I can't wait to plant them! Of course, I'm being lectured on taking care of them, etc. Of course I will! It will be part of the daily curriculum with the kids! Ha!

We had our families over for brunch for something different. That went pretty well. GG was here, and she's getting quite frail, so I'm thinking her days of coming here are numbered, if that wasn't the last one already. After brunch, it was naptime, and I was able to get one in. In peace! It was amazing! I slept for 90 minutes or so, and woke up and was shocked it was after 4pm! The kids all got up around then as well, and we got them ready to stop by a First Communion party, and then we were off to dinner at Carabba's.

Dinner was delicious there as always! The kids were pretty good as well. It helped we were almost at our own little private table, as there were none around. That certainly helped! On the way out, a woman who was dining with her husband said to me, "You have a beautiful family! Enjoy them!"

Thank you. I think so too-and I most certainly will enjoy them. One day, they'll be grown, and these will all be distant memories. But until then-NOW is the time to enjoy them...and enjoy them I will! Here are a few photos from before bed...

Getting close....

I'm having a hard time believing that Annabella is going to be a year old in just barely a month. Really. A year old already. I swear she was just born. I can still picture myself on the OR table, looking back when the OR door opened, and Tony walked in. Seeing his face, made it all real-we were having another baby! And what a wonderful baby she is! My goodness! She seriously is happy all.the.time. And I am not just saying that. She really, honestly is! Unless she is hurt, tired, or hungry. That's it. I'm beyond lucky!

She is quite the stinker, as she puts EVERYTHING in her mouth. You have to be careful with her, whereas with the boys-I could have had a floor covered with pennies, and they wouldn't have even blinked! She is starting to become quite the cruiser, and I can totally see her walkingby her birthday. What's funny is that last week, she was unstable on her feet if you grabbed her fingers to walk. She was all over the place, still trying to find her balance. Well today, I grabbed her hands and she FLEW! Oh my goodness it was crazy to see her walk so fast! How and when did that happen?!?! She also claps on cue, as well as shake her head no. Both of which are totally adorable to see! And her newest thing? Which I found out tonight while at dinner with Grandma and Grandpa...

She was making noises-as she is quite the vocal one... And I turned to her and said, "hahaha!" To which she responded, "Hahaha!" Can you believe that?!? It wasn't a fluke-I did it numerous times and she responded to all of them! LOVE HER! Oh-and she is also starting to wave "hi!" and "bye!" I think the boys did that much later on. I would say within the last week she started doing that. My how fast they grow....

I'm just enjoying her to pieces. She's such a love. Her brothers totally dote on her. I love when they see each other first thing in the morning, or after a nap-they go crazy! All of them! The boys look at her all excited and say, "ANNABELLA!"! And she starts waving her hands, and jumping up and down in your arms. The three of them are going to be so close as they get older. It's a wonderful thing.

This is what life is all about!

EASTER

Here are some Easter photos. If you can believe it-the kids were ALL sick. Nicholas was getting over an ear infection and Anthony and Annabella both had croup. I have never seen Anthony so miserable!

Moving, moving, MOVING!

Lookout! She's on the prowl! That's right-Annabella is CRAWLING! Woohoo! I thought this day would never come! She's been moving at least one knee forward, and then she would collapse and start whining. However-today-she went-and kept on going! She's still a bit unsteady at her new found freedom-but I guarantee by the end of the week, she'll be blowing by everybody! Of course we put some Cheerios in front of her to get her to move forward. ;)

In relation to where she stands on the milestone chart in comparison to her brothers... Nicholas crawled 9 days BEFORE his nine month birthday. Anthony crawled 10 days AFTER his nine month birthday. And Ms. Annabella crawled 19 days AFTER her nine month birthday. I thought she would be the earliest-and she was the latest! Funny, huh? In other news-she *could* be first when it comes to walking. She has stood up on her own for up to 30 seconds! Tony had her standing on the table tonight-he let go-and she stood there for 30 seconds. Unassisted. Craziness!

****

We are dealing with sickness yet again. We were actually really good for quite some time. The Christmas/winter season got us all good-well the kids at least. They had colds that lasted WEEKS. Yesterday, 3/28, we drove into Boston to go to the Children's Museum because they have a Curious George exhibit. The boys are HUGE into Curious George. Nicholas had a cough that morning and a very slight runny nose. Even my mother in law said he seemed fine at her house. Now, Nicholas hasn't gotten car sick since 12/25/2008. And well-yesterday-he did. THANKFULLY I had extra clothes in the car! We would have been in big trouble if we didn't! I'm thinking the coughing/runny nose/being awake didn't help-and he couldn't handle it.

So we went to the museum, as we were essentially there. Nicholas seemed to get worse the closer we got. Halfway through the musuem I noticed he was burning up. We finished up the museum then headed home, and stopped for dinner along the way. He luckily slept most of the ride home as he was EXHAUSTED. Poor kid. I hate when they are sick! He still had a fever today, and sounds horrific. I'm just hoping no one else gets whatever it is he has! Easter is this Sunday!

Well, off to bed. Annabella has been sleeping pretty decently as of late. Let's hope the trend continues and that I didn't just jinx myself!

NINE MONTHS!

Can you believe it? Already! She's gone from this:

To this:

CRAZINESS!

She had her nine month pediatrican appointment. Are you ready for the stats? She weighs in at 19.13lbs!!! And she's 28 inches long! In comparison... Anthony was 23.15lbs and 32 inches at his TWO YEAR appointment! She's going to be big! She got the second round of the H1N1 Flu shot. That was it! The pediatrician gave us the go ahead to start/try all types of food. She is not the easiest kid to feed, to say the least. She clamps her mouth shut. Seriously. But looking at her, you would never know it! He said not to change anything-obviously what we are doing is great. So-that's that!

In terms of her development, she can get on all fours and rock. She tries to crawl, but usually gets one leg stuck. I *think* I saw her crawl forward today, but I'm not sure I can count it. If I did, then it means she is almost ready to go-and boy will she! She is trying to pull up, and when successful, can get to her knees. Once she realizes all the things she can do-it's going to be a whole new world for her!

The fun is just beginning!

Aww Moments!

You know, I would read various forums, where moms would gush about the cute things their kids said. As I would read, I would sit with wonder. Would my kids do that? What would they say? Does it really happen? And here, two days in a row, I was able to have those "aww" moments. While eating dinner the other night, Nicholas turned to me and said, "Momma thank you cook!" That translates to, "Thank you momma for cooking dinner!" How sweet is that?!?!? It's not like Tony and I sit at the table and thank each other for the meal we cooked(not that it's a bad idea...). He wasn't coerced by Tony, or myself, or anyone else for that matter. It just brought a huge smile from my face! He is too sweet for words!

And yesterday, while I was getting dressed for storyhour, Anthony was in the room with me. He looked at me and said, "Beautiful mama!" What? He just said I was beautiful! And then he turned to Annabella and said the same thing!

There is no greater love than the love I have for my kids-and they keep coming up with more and more ways why!

Houston-We have a TOOTH!

Well-it's looking like we have THREE teeth! Friday, February 26th I noticed a tooth had FINALLY popped through. The only "problem" with the tooth popping through is that it is her left incisor! The fang tooth! OUCH!

And now today, March 1, I can see her bottom TWO teeth about to make their way through. One has barely popped up-but it's there! I say by the end of the week she will have three teeth! And today was also a big day for Ms. Annabella. Remember trying to feed her baby food? What a hassle it is? Well tonight I made meatloaf for dinner and Tony had her try some. She gobbled it right up!!! She LOVED it! How do I know? Probably because she actually OPENED her mouth! Stinker that she is! Here are a few photos of this BIG day. TABLE FOOD!

Annabella Rose

Seeing how by the time night comes around, I'm in no mood to write-I thought I would try naptime and see how that goes. Here's a bit about Ms. Annabella Rose...

Annabella is now 8 months old. Where the time went I am still trying to find... She is an amazing ray of sunshine in ALL of our lives. To imagine our life without her-you just couldn't.

Eating:

Boy is she nothing like the boys! It's like pulling teeth trying to get her to eat! Even Tony mentions how the boys would open their mouth waiting for the next solid. Not her. She clamps it shut! And the funny thing is, she's much bigger than the boys were at this stage. She's got rolls they NEVER had! She's not on any strict schedule. Sometimes that's good, sometimes not so much. It would help me to know what to expect, like I did with the boys. But on the other hand, I'm not limited with what I can do with the boys-like storyhour. If I had to stay home because it was her nap, we wouldn't go anywhere, and I might just go crazy! She drinks formula every few hours. Trying to get 6oz at a time is not easy. She may drink 4oz, and then she's good for at least an hour, if not more. Drives me batty. So-on average, I'm going to guess she gets at least 20oz/formula a day. Not sure if that's good or not, but she is not a huge eater. Or when she does-it's in large amounts? I don't know. Most days when it comes to solids(cereal, fruits, veggies), she doesn't open her mouth and we have to find a way to get the food in. I may give her a spoon, or something else to chew on and that tends to work. We did start the Gerber puffs right after 8 months. She's done well with them. The first few tries were ok, now she's an old pro!

The boys were eating mostly table food by the time nine months rolled around-as we were in Italy. I'm not so sure Annabella will be on that same time table! Who knows-maybe that's what she'd rather eat anyways?

Sleeping:

Well, yet again, she did things a bit differently. At six months, the boys were STTN as well as going to bed by about 7pm. Annabella? Nope. She was still waking at least once a night, if not twice depending on the time. She would eat, but never a full feeding. She might have 2 ounces one night, 4 ounces the next night. You just never knew. I had a feeling she would STTN on her own though. I was hesitant about CIO with her, probably because she's my last baby, and she's a girl-I know-totally sexist-but I just couldn't bear to hear her cry. And I was the one getting up with her in the middle of the night, not Tony. And it was also one-on-one time I had with her. No matter what time of day it is-she is ALWAYS smiling. Even at 3am, so how could you possibly be mad at her? Anyways...I'm happy to say *knock on wood* that she is going to bed when the boys do-within the half hour, and wakes up around 7am. There are a few nights here or there that she does wake to eat, but it's usually quick and it's at least 4-5oz. So she must be hungry! I'm happy she's pretty muh figured this all out on her own. Tony has done some modified CIO with her-he'll put her down when she's not fully asleep(I don't) and she may cry, but I'll be honest-he gets it done. She goes to sleep within ten minutes, even if it feels like an hour!

Talking:

She is such a little talker! She is a biggggg babbler! I swear she'll be talking in no time! She has, "dadadada" and "nanana" as far as I can tell so far. The other morning she woke up and I went to her crib and she was softly, as if she was whispering, saying "dadadadada." It was so cute. I did it with her later on, and she seemed to repeat what I said. Sometimes if you talk to her, she'll talk back, often times much louder. Not sure if that's a good thing or not! ;) The boys had EI for speech until they were 25 months old. As of now-I don't think she'll need it. The boys weren't much for babbling, although they certainly did it. Just looking back it seems like they were quiet in comparison. And Annabella also has the tendency to put EVERYTHING in her mouth! The boys NEVER put anything in their mouth. Never. I thought it was weird then. Apparently-it's a good thing, to an extent, to do that. It sets them up for speech later on. Interesting. I think she'll do just fine!

On the go:

On November 20, 2009, Annabella rolled from belly to back. Took her long enough! ;) And on February 4th, 2010, she rolled from back to belly. It seems like it takes so long to get from back to belly. And itn's not like she wasn't trying! She'd be on her back and arching like crazy. It was just trying to get that leg over! As for sitting up, she wasn't quite sitting around Christmas. She had JUST started to get the strength to do so. I remember having her sit for photos. I say she was good for a few seconds. And then by January, she's been great with sitting! I still put her in a boppy pillow to protect her. Doesn't help we have hard wood floors. And she just recently has gone from sitting to a crawling type position-getting on all fours, or almost. And, speaking of all fours... She does get up on all fours, and rocks, and that's about it! LOL! She has moved her legs forward, but hasn't figured out that she needs to, or can, move her arms as well. The boys both started crawling at nine months(within three weeks of each other), so it will be interesting to see if she does the same.

Odds and Ends:

*When Annabella sleeps, she sucks on her two fingers. Generally it's her right hand. You know she's getting tired when her fingers go in her mouth. She also sucks on her fingers when you are feeding her, thus making it quite difficult to feed her! To me, it's a comfort thing. I love when she does it. I'll worry about the orthodontist later! ;) And it's so darn cute when you can hear her sucking on her fingers on the monitor!

*When I change her diaper, I sit to the left of her on the bed, while she lays down. Whenever I do this, she rolls to her left and grabs onto my arm and immediately starts to smile! I then start saying, "No!" in a joking manner and she cracks up! I just love her to pieces!!!!

*She ADORES her brothers! Oh my goodness! I LOVE watching them interact! She especially loves Nicholas-as he makes her laugh quite a bit! He'll jump around or dance, and she is in fits of laughter. With Anthony, they seem to be more close in the sense of if she's sitting with me, he'll come up to her and kiss her, or touch her cheek, or talk to her. He really is so gentle with her. To see the love between all three of them-it just melts your heart.

I am still amazed that I have a little girl. When I stop and think about it, it just brings a smile to my face. She's such a beautiful little person, inside and out. I can't imagine my life without her and I am blessed beyond words to call her mine.

Time is flying by

Wow. Two months since the last post? Oops! Busy? I guess that's one good reason! Things over here are going very well. The kids are all growing like weeds! I'll update them individually in a moment. In the beginning of December, I had a surprise 30th birthday party for Tony. About 30 people came, and I was able to pull the whole thing off! I was quite impressed myself! And of course, you can't have a surprise party without something going wrong... Well Tony had a horrible toothache and needed to get his wisdom tooth pulled. He scheduled the appointment for the DAY BEFORE the party. Seriously?!?! Luckily, he was in so much pain, I was able to convince him to go the Monday before the party-and they pulled it. Talk about dodging a bullet! He had a great time at his party, and I think he was happy about it. Then on his actual birthday, we went to the casino where we had a beautiful suite thanks to his uncle! It was awesome!

We all had a great Christmas. We didn't travel-everyone came to us. It was a lot of work, but it was relatively laid back and relaxing. I enjoyed it, as did Tony. We had two wonderful meals, and the boys were THOROUGHLY excited with Santa! We hyped him up so much! Ha! It really was wonderful, and Christmas has a whole new meaning when you have kids. I loved every minute of it. It was magical. Truly magical-and you could see it in their eyes! We got the boys the 50's Diner. It's been a HUGE hit! They love(especially Anthony) to go to the Diner once someone arrives and make coffee. It's too cute. He's my little chef, that's for sure!

We had a quiet New Year's. We actually went over a friend's house. They have a daughter a few months older than the boys. We just sat around, ate, and chatted, and then went on home. Nothing too exciting and just what we like! Shortly after New Year's, Tony and I "celebrated" 13 years of being together! Isnt' that crazy?!!? To think we've been together for almost half of our life! I can only hope my children can be in a loving, lasting relationship as I have been these last 13 years. And what an amazing 13 years it's been!

January marked the start of tax season, and I just dread the rest of winter. Tony works late Tu/Th and works on Saturdays. Fun times. I love my kids, but it's nice to have a little break here and there. Well now we are in February, so things are moving along, right? LOL! In the midst of tax season, we did book our FIRST family vacation! I can't wait! We are going to Sesame Place in Pennsylvania. We are taking my sister, as well as his, as we will need all the help! We got a pretty good deal I believe and will be staying for four days/three nights. We will be driving there, so that will be interesting to say the least! It's a five hour drive. My kids have never been in the car that long, nor have they really slept anywhere else besides their cribs-which they are still in! Eek!

Other than that, on the homefront, there is nothing new to report! Annabella is EIGHT months old already! Where in the world did that time go?!?! I feel like I was just pregnant with her! It's amazing to see how fast they grow up. Well, I'm off for now, as the laptop battery is low. I will post updates, separately, on each child. This will be fun! Hopefully, I do it tomorrow, and not months from now! I need to be documenting their growth!