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!