Show Day at Little Gym

Giana "graduated" from her Superbeastie class at Little Gym and they held an award ceremony for the kids. It was so cute and she was so proud of herself and her medal! She's actually still in the same class until she turns 3 but it was the end of the semester and she just started back up the following week. In September, she will move to the Funnybugs class and she will be alone in the class without me. I'm sort of sad about this because we've had so much fun together. But don't worry, the overprotective Mom will be watching through the glass!

Las Vegas!

Dominic and I went to Las Vegas for a few days in late May/early June. We had so much fun and it was a great vacation! The weather was great and there was a ton to do. We didn't win any money but the time we spent alone together was priceless. Dominic works in the hotel industry so we enjoyed seeing all the beautiful hotels. We ran into M&M World on the last day and I made Dominic pose for a picture and hold the bag. He wasn't too pleased with me here but oh what a trooper! Check out that goatie that he grew for me! He hates facial hair but he "did it for me." It was shaved off within an hour of being home.

Remembering Andrew Stithem

My friend, Jessica and her husband Scott lost their 6 month old baby boy suddenly to bacterial meningitis. Dominic and I are so incredibly sad and heart broken for them right now. I can't imagine what they must be going through and I pray we never will. Please keep Jessica and Scott in your prayers as they bury their baby today.

A Trip to the Emergency Room

After 4 home offers fell through for one reason or another, we decided to move into an apartment and take our time looking for a house. We moved in on May 1st. I have to say that I wasn’t thrilled about living in an apartment but now that we’ve moved in, we are really enjoying it. It’s a new place with a nice swimming pool and it’s close to my Mom and Dominic’s work. Giana loves her new room. We moved her from a crib into a toddler bed. She is very proud of her new bed, although the transition wasn’t as easy as I had hoped for. We are feeling a little more settled now and it’s nice to have our family life back to normal.

Shortly after we moved in, Giana came down with a very high fever. It wasn’t going away so I took her to the Children’s Urgent Care where she was diagnosed with Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. She was pretty miserable but we made it through. The following night, she woke up around midnight with a high fever and gasping for air. I thought it might be croup but needed to be sure. Dominic and I took her to the emergency room at 1am and sure enough, she had croup. After a breathing treatment, steroid and lung x-ray, we were able to bring her home. A few days later, she got a bad cold and still had a fever on and off. After nine long days, I took her to the pediatrician to make sure she was okay. 9 days is a long time to have a fever. She is doing much better now, but may have a urinary tract infection. Lovely. When will it end?

We missed my niece’s confirmation in Maryland because we spent the night before we were leaving in the ER. I was in no shape to being driving after being up all night and Giana was too sick to be in the car. My mom was her confirmation sponsor and I was her ride to get there. She was able to catch a last minute flight and made it for the event. I feel terrible for missing it but we just couldn’t be there. Love you, Katie! This also happened to be Mother’s Day weekend so needless to say; we stayed home with our sick daughter. After all, she is why I am able to celebrate Mother’s Day. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

My sister, Julie and her family are in town now and we’ve been having a great time with the kids. We went to the circus on Saturday and we’ve been to the park, swimming, cooking out and enjoying this beautiful weather. Giana loves her cousins and she is having a great time.

We’re off to Cleveland for Memorial Day weekend to visit with Dominic’s family. It will be nice to see his family and spend a few days with them. His brother is coming to town from Atlanta and I think some golfing, beer (wine for me) and cook outs are in order.

Up next…a trip to Vegas! Dominic and I are headed out west from 5/30-6/4. I can’t wait! The babysitters (aka Grandma, Grandpa, Mom-Mom and Aunt Deanna) are lined up and we are free to do as we please! A much needed trip for the two of us. Here’s hoping we return a little darker, richer and well rested!

Finally, a day for golf!

It was only the driving range but it was nice to get out for a while!

Taking tips from Daddy.

She's really trying here. Our local rec center has a golf program for 3 year olds. Next year... Perhaps the LPGA Tour is in her future?

Ahhh, there's my guy. I need to recommend sunscreen because I think the collar being up is out of style...but it sure does block the sun off your neck!

Easter 2009

Giana waiting patiently for the easter egg hunt to begin.

Giana and Daddy scoping out the grass before the easter egg hunt.

Giana loved the easter egg hunt and really LOVED the candy. I'm usually behind the camera but for those of you looking for a picture of me...here you go!

Coloring easter eggs and the bunny cake Giana and I made.

Daddy and Giana before mass. (It was early...Dominic was a little tired here.)

Giana and Mom-Mom

While we were at church, Easter Bunny hid a basket of candy!

Easter Bunny also left Rody the Horse for Giana.

Our Life in March 2009

I had high hopes of posting more often but it appears it’s been about 5 weeks since I’ve updated my blog. Dominic told me told me I should stay home for a day and see what it’s like. We’re on the go so much that, as funny as it sounds coming from a stay at home mom, I just haven’t had time! I would like to free up our “schedule” a little in the coming months but it looks like April and May are pretty packed, too. We shall see…

Giana got her FIRST haircut a few weeks ago. She was exactly 2 and a half…her hair grows so slow and it’s SO curly. Looks like she’s going to take after her mommy here. She did really well…the cartoons and the lollipop may have helped!

Dominic and I decided to take Giana to my Dad’s grave. It was a beautiful spring day. Honestly, it was the first time we had ever been to his grave, too. My Dad died over five years ago and I hate to admit this. We have lived so far away and our trips home were always short and busy. I’ve never felt like he was there but Dominic convinced me to visit his final resting place. It was much more difficult than I thought it would be but I’m so glad we went. Giana is much too young to understand. She knows Grandpa through home videos and pictures and we will continue to keep his memory alive. On a lighter note, I had my camera on hand, as always…never to miss a photo opportunity and took a picture of Giana jumping from one grave stone to the next. So sweet and innocent.

The house repairs on our home in Georgia were moving along so Giana and I headed south. The first leg of our trip was to South Carolina to see my sister and her family. My Mom was in SC visiting when we arrived. I was a little nervous driving by myself with a two year old but we did just fine…except for the stretch through northern VA when Giana got car sick and threw up. That was lovely. (When Giana was 8 months old, I drove from Atlanta to Ohio. My car broke down in the TN Mountains - middle of NO WHERE and it was a frightening experience. It all turned out fine but I get a little nervous now while on road trips by myself.) I visited with my sister and her family for a couple days and left Giana with them while I drove onto Atlanta to make sure the house repairs were taken care of. I had a great time in Atlanta visiting friends and I’m happy to report that the repairs on the house are complete. YAY! The new roof, siding and windows look great. We are thrilled to have this behind us. Now let’s hope there are no more storms! I drove back to SC, picked up Giana, my Mom and our cat and we came back home. My sister was watching Wuzzie the cat for us until we got settled in Ohio. G is so excited to have her back!

I can’t officially say we are “settled” here yet. Still no house. Who knew it would be this hard? Between my trip to Georgia, Dominic’s business trip to California and Easter, we’ve put the house search on hold until the end of April.

We had our first swim of the season a few days ago. While it was in my Mom’s indoor, neighborhood pool, it was still the first swim of the year! It gave me hope that summer is right around the corner, right? I’ve learned to be careful what I ask for because I asked for snow and I got it. I was in Solon just a few days ago at Dominic’s parents and it snowed. It’s April…enough already!

Easter bunny arrived at a local mall and we decided to go for a visit. Giana was so brave! She agreed to sit next to him on the bench and the pictures are priceless. I told her that she would get candy and that’s all it took! I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we have.

As I’ve already mentioned, April and May are shaping up to be busy months for us. We are looking forward to Easter, a trip to Maryland in early May for my niece’s confirmation and possibly a trip to Vegas with Dominic in late May! Gotta love Vegas and we are looking forward to a trip with just the two of us! Happy Easter!