Father's Day 2009

Dominic and Giana on Father's Day.

Dominic and his Dad on Father's Day.

Gone too soon, my Dad...love and miss you. Happy Father's Day!

May 2009

Oh so much to catch up on! I have several posts so keep scrolling! May was so much fun! Playdates, swimming, my sister, Julie and her family came to visit and Memorial Day weekend in Cleveland with the Vitale's. Giana rode her first carnival ride and roasted marsh mellows for the first time...although she wouldn't eat it. I don't blame her, though!

More Family in Town

My sister, Wendy and my niece, Katie came to town for a few days this past week. We had a great time visiting with them. There was a lot of playtime that included lacrosse, swimming and a trip to the zoo. And we fit shopping in there, too! Wendy and I love to shop together! My niece plays lacrosse in Maryland and she brought Giana a toy lacrosse set with pink and purple sticks. Giana loves the purple one! Aunt Wendy came with a lot of cute clothes and toys for Giana (as usual) so I think we are all set with cute dresses for a while! We are planning a trip to see them in July and Giana can't wait to ride Katie's horse! We're looking forward to our visit and we'll get to see Uncle Chris since he couldn't make it to Ohio on this trip.

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!