First Day of "School"

Giana started her "Mother's Morning Out" program today at a local Catholic Church. I'm not sure who wanted to cry more. She had a great morning but the first 30 minutes were rough on her. She cried - A LOT! I stood outside the room and had the hardest time leaving with her crying so much but I refrained from going back inside. After her meltdown, she apparently decided she was having a great time and when I picked her up she was so happy! She will be going to her little class once or twice a week for 3 hours for the rest of the school year. Her teachers will be celebrating her 2nd birthday next Thursday with the class. So cute!

August 2008

Here I am finding myself blogging about the entire month because I haven't had time to write. So here goes...

August was another busy month - by choice... but I must say I'm totally exhausted and will NOT be traveling again for a long time. Well, maybe to my sisters house in SC this coming weekend and for a weekend getaway with Dominic in September for our anniversary...but after that, I'm done.

Giana and I were in Ohio for 10 days this month. We left on 8/13 and returned home on 8/23. We had a great visit and did a lot of fun things. We kicked off our trip with my in laws in Solon for the first few days. We celebrated my birthday on the 13th (I'm 24 if anyone is wondering - LOL!!!), went to the park, fed the ducks, celebrated Mary's birthday at the feast in Cleveland on the 15th. They had rides, a parade, games, food (you gotta love fair food!) and Giana loved every minute of it. We then went to Westerville and spent a week with my Mom. My friend Erin, baptized her little boy (Caeden) and we spent most of Sunday with them. Caeden is my Godson and he was so cute! He cried during the entire ceremony but it was still a great day! We spent the remainder of the week with my mom. More park visits and shopping. We ended the week with a trip to the Columbus Zoo. It was so much fun. We all enjoyed it. Here's a plug for the Columbus Zoo (just in case anyone is ever in Columbus, Ohio) - it was awesome!! We flew home on Saturday morning - very early. I was feeding Giana M&M's at 6:45 am so that she wouldn't scream in the airport. (What a Mom!) Dominic picked us up from the airport and we went to breakfast. He was so happy to see us. (Let me clarify "us": Giana first, then me. lol!) The poor guy has been alone this summer since we've been traveling to see family so much. Thanks baby...I promise we're done with our trips for a while!

I'm happy to be home. Giana is too. We missed Dominic and our day to day life here. September is shaping up to be a fun month for us. There is plenty of FUN in the weeks ahead...Elmo at Phillips arena, Giana's 2nd birthday party and family coming to town!

July - Family, Friends and Fun!

July was an incredibly busy month for us. Busy, but fun! It started out with our Myrtle Beach vacation from 7/5-7/12. It was the Powell family reunion. There were 21 of us and most of my family was able to come. We missed my cousin Michelle and her husband John. And of course we missed my Dad. He is spending his life in heaven with Jesus and I'm certain he enjoys beautiful oceans and white sandy beaches every day. We rented a house on the beach and enjoyed the ocean, pool and sun all week. We ate all of our meals at the house, except for one night when Dominic and I went out to dinner at California Dreamin (LOVE that place!) and then we went to Broadway on the Beach. We had plenty of babysitters so we took off for a few hours! It was so nice to spend time with my family and we had a great time!**

We were only home for a few days before Dominic's family arrived (Mom, Dad and sister.) They were in town from 7/17-7/22 and we had a nice visit with them. Their visit revolved around Giana (she is the only grand child on Dominic's side of the family...need I say more?) so we had a great time doing baby friendly activities all week! Giana was attached to Aunt Dee-Dee's hip all week and loved it and I think Aunt Dee-Dee loved it, too! Dominic's brother lives in Atlanta and he was over visiting, too. We see him often now...it's nice to have family in town!**

After the Vitale's left, Giana and I drove to Greenville, SC. We went to see my sister, Julie and her family. My mom was visiting, too. Julie has Sophia (7) and Luke (22 months - 10 days younger then G.) Giana LOVES to visit Aunt Julie. There is no shortage of toys, noise and fun...what could be better?- except for the popsicles and lollipops that Aunt Julie gives to her! Giana would not sleep the first night we were there so we were up all night. It took me back to her newborn days, although she was 16 months old before she was sleeping through the night. I'm not sure how we did that for 16 months!! I've been giving my sister a hard time about living in Greenville, SC. It's not a place I would want to live. We went downtown to sight see and let the kids run around. I must say I saw a different side to Greenville. It was a nice, urban, cute place with a lot to offer. Julie, I stand corrected...but it's still not a place I would want to live! :-)**

We returned home to Atlanta and had a few days to clean my house and write the MOM'S Club summer newsletter before my other sister, Wendy and my niece, Kathleen arrived. They came on 7/29 and left on 8/2. We had a fun visit with them. They came with lots of toys (my poor house - lol!) Katie gave Giana her doll house and chalk board and she LOVES them. And then she bought her a mini trampoline as an early birthday gift. This takes up most of my family room! We had an action packed few days with plenty of shopping, eating out, swimming and Jumping Jelly Beans!! Wendy and I went to see Mamma Mia and we ended the week by going to a Taylor Swift/Rascal Flats concert on Friday night. Let me back up talk about Mamma Mia for a minute. I have two words for you...STAY HOME! I hate to admit this, but I haven't been to a movie theater in years. While the movie wasn't that good, I still enjoyed the whole movie experience. There's just something about a movie theater, the smell of popcorn and having a night out without a 22 month old (lol!) BTW, the only thing I did was smell the popcorn because it was $10.00 for a coke and popcorn. Now, I'm not a cheap person (Dominic can verify this :-) but OMG! $10.00??? It was still a fun evening out with my sister! Now, the Rascal Flats concert - AWESOME! Taylor Swift opened for them. I wasn't too excited about her but she came through for me. She played for 40 minutes and was really good! My niece (almost 14 years old) loves her. Love is a strong word. I LOVED Rascal Flats. We had a blast! On the same note, Dominic and I are going to see Brad Paisley in September at the Lakewood Amphitheater. Be still my heart. He is my husband in my next life. Well, I guess it would be a toss up between Brad Paisley and Nick Lachey. Don't laugh! Dominic makes fun of me all the time. :-)**

We can't let any grass grow under our feet so Giana and I are flying to Ohio on 8/13. We'll be visiting Dominic's family in Solon for a few days then we're going to see my mom in Westerville. My friend, Erin is baptizing her little boy and I'm his Godmother. It will be a fun week!**

Enjoy the rest of the summer!