Our Little Spider

Oh what joy a little candy will bring! Giana had a great time trick or treating with her friend Nathan last night. They covered the entire neighborhood and she really enjoyed herself. It's so fun to see life through her eyes! Daddy and Uncle David had no problem "checking" her candy!

Earlier in the day, we carved her very first pumpkin. She enjoyed the entire experience except when she decided to take bite. I warned her but she didn't listen. I suppose that's the first of many hard lessons that she'll experience in her life. And I'm certain in about 20 years or so she'll realize that Mom is always right! :)

READ MY LIPSTICK!

Pumpkin Patch Fun!

We went to a local farm on Saturday evening for some pumpkin fun! We had a great time so I thought I would share some of my favorite pictures!

Giana and I are off to Maryland on Wednesday and I'm looking forward to the cool, fall weather...and maybe another pumpkin patch!

The past couple of weeks...

We've had quite a bit going on the past couple of weeks so I thought I'd give you a sneak peak at what we've been up to. Gosh, I'm not sure where to start so I'll mention the "not so fun stuff" first. Giana had tear duct surgery on 9/25 and it went really well. She did great. It was me who was a ball of stress. They let me go back with her to put her to sleep and that was the hardest thing to watch. It took 4 people (yes, I said 4) to hold her down. She wasn't too happy about the whole situation at that point. Long story short, she did just fine and her eyes are better. Thank you to those who prayed and thought of her during her surgery!

Now, onto the fun stuff. Let's see. Dominic and I celebrated our wedding anniversary on 9/26. We went out to dinner with Giana. My friend Kristi wanted to babysit her and I should have taken her up on it because Giana was a nightmare at dinner! Ugh! I went to see Nights of Rodanthe with my friends in the MOM's Club. Good movie. Sad. I won't say anymore so that I don't spoil it for you. Now, that's 3 movies at the theater for me in 6 weeks. (It had been like 5 years prior to these movies! I'm serious!) Then there's Book Club. We've been reading Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin. Good book for those of you out there looking for a little romance novel. Be prepared...it might make you think back about past loves. No doubt about it though...I love the one I'm with!

The following weekend some of the girls from the MOM's Club went to The Dinner Afare and made a meal. Now...that's the way to cook! For those of you who know me, you know that I don't cook. So I'm sure you are getting a kick out of this. But really, it was a great experience. Let me clarify about the "not cooking" comment. I just don't enjoy it and I have a husband who cooks for us. Plus, I am allergic to everything and break out in a rash on my hands from latex gloves, meat, bananas...you name it. Because of this, I don't feel like rushing into the kitchen to create some fantastic meal. Poor Giana...she eats a lot of left overs throughout the day because I'm not allergic to the microwave. :)

Gosh...what else? How about the post office tour and Halloween Read and Share that we participated with. How fun! Giana wasn't quite sure what to think about the post office but Mom really enjoyed herself! It's kind of cool how they process mail! In the midst of all of this I thought it would be a good idea to flat iron Giana's hair. Not a good idea. She has very curly, fine hair. God knew what he was doing when gave her those curls. Don't mess with God. Giana will hate me for this someday but her picture is above. I hope you enjoy it as much as we have.

On Sunday, Dominic, Giana and I went to Northpoint Mall in Alpharetta and had fun day at the Cheesecake Factory and shopping. Of course we went to American Girl. That place is just so cool. It was Dominic's first experience with American Girl and he was shocked to see the hair salon and restaurant. He was a trooper but I think all the dolls freaked him out a bit! :)

I thought I would surprise Giana today so I picked her up from "school" and took her to the park for a picnic. I had it all planned in my head but when we got there she was tired and didn't really want much of her lunch. The bull dozer next door freaked her out and the boys on the playground were too rough. Needless to say, it just didn't go as I had planned. So after about 30 minutes on the swings we came home.

There's much more ahead with the pumpkin patch trip this coming weekend and then Giana and I are off to Maryland to see my sister for a few days. I love the fall up north and I'm looking forward to our trip!

HAPPY FALL!

Birthday Fun!

Giana turned two on 9/6 and we had a birthday party for her at our house on 9/13. Her party was so much fun and Giana really enjoyed herself. As a matter of fact, she never took a nap that day...too many toys and too much cake to enjoy! By 6:30 she couldn't take any more and went to bed for the night. Thank you to all who celebrated her birthday with us. We love you all!

The night before the party, we took Giana to see Sesame Street Live - Elmo Grows Up. Oh what fun! It was really cute. Dominic's Mom and sister stayed for the entire week. Needless to say, Giana was pretty spoiled. She had a fun week...how do you top fudge finger painting, bike rides and having a manicure? Well, she just had her nails painted with Aunt Dee-Dee...but really, who takes a two year old to a nail salon?...except Aunt Dee-Dee, of course! :)

Life is back to normal now and we are looking forward to the fall. We've got a lot of fun activities planned and I'll make sure to keep you all updated!

Brad Paisley..."Time Well Wasted" on Thursday Night!

Dominic and I went to see Brad Paisley on Thursday night. We had a great time! I bought our tickets at the last minute and I couldn't have planned for better seats. They were great! Chuck Wicks and Jewel opened for him. They were good but not as good as Brad! I've been a huge fan of Brad Paisley for a long time now. He reminds me of Dominic...well, minus the cowboy hat, tight tee shirt, boots, southern accent, guitar and money. LOL! OK, so maybe he doesn't remind me too much of Dominic but we'll just go with it. Dominic wouldn't be caught dead wearing any of the above! But we did have a great time and I can't wait to see him in concert again!

Dominic's mom and sister were in town so we had babysitters for a week. Dominic took Friday off from work and we made a good attempt to play golf but couldn't get out because there were tournaments all over the place. So we went to lunch and to the driving range instead. Later Friday night we went to see "My Best Friends Girl" and then went to the Olive Garden for dinner. It was so much fun! We don't get out alone too often these days.

Coming soon...my blog about Giana's second birthday party!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Sweet Giana!

Our sweet baby girl turned TWO today! Now that I am a parent, the phrase “where does the time go?” really holds true. Our baby girl was born 3 weeks early weighing just 5 pounds and 3 ounces and now we have a healthy, happy 25 pound toddler! God is good! Giana has brought us such joy these past two years. She is our life and continues to bring us happiness each day.

Giana,

Daddy and I love you very much! Thank you for being YOU… the sweet, smart, precious little girl that we are so blessed to have. You bring us such joy and we LOVE being your Mommy and Daddy.

Happy birthday!

We love you,
Mommy and Daddy
xoxo