Early Birthday Present!

Dominic's sister has been wanting to buy Giana a car for awhile now. Since we lived in the apartment, she just didn't have any place to drive her "vehicle" so she held off...until we moved. Dominic's parents, sister and brother decided to go all out and get Giana a Barbie car for her 4th birthday. They came to town last weekend and gave it to her so she would have time to enjoy it during the summer. It's a hit and she loves it! We had it set on the lowest setting (2.5 MPH) but felt she could handle the higher speed (5 MPH) and she can...but we are on the look out watching our toes and flower beds!

Mommy's Helper

I feel like I've been running a marathon trying to get the new house unpacked, baby's room in order, cleaning, window treatments up and visiting with family...all before the baby arrives. Why is it that I have to have it ALL done? Well, that's just me and it has to be done. I can officially say it's all done...maybe at the expense of my high blood pressure but my to do list is complete. On occasion, I have a little helper and all projects take twice as long but it's been fun watching Giana grow and get excited to meet her brother.


Putting the bouncy seat together.

Unpacking the last box.

The final touches...planting flowers with Aunt Deanna.

Family Reunion Fun

My Aunt and Uncle hosted a family reunion on July 3rd for my side of the family. It was so much fun and so nice to catch up with my family. We were missing several people but so good to catch up with those that were able to come. Giana had a great time with all of her extended cousins and I look forward to getting everyone together again soon.

My sisters and their families were in town for awhile and it was fun spending time with my nieces and nephew this month. Giana loves her cousins and the fun lasted about three weeks. We had fun swimming, shopping, playing sports, play dates and feeding the horses. Maybe this is why my blood pressure is up?!

Baby Lunch Celebration

My friend, Erin and my sisters had a baby lunch for me early in July to celebrate our upcoming arrival. We had a lot of fun and it was nice to have everyone together to celebrate our little guy.

Speaking of baby, Dominic and I went today to the doctor for my 37 week check up. Had an ultra sound done to check his size and it looks like he's growing well. As of today, he is 6 pounds and 13 ounces. (I delivered Giana at 37 weeks and she weighed 5pounds, 3 ounces) so we've decided to go with a c-section so I don't break my tail bone again. My blood pressure is rising so we spent some time in labor and delivery to make sure we were both OK. All is going well but they may induce at any time. I've been instructed to take it easy for the next week in hopes that I can carry him to 38 or 39 weeks. It's day to day at this point but I feel good and I'm certain we'll have a healthy baby. My emotions are up and down. I'm ready to get on with this, yet very afraid of the pain, IV (don't laugh!), spinal and recovery. It's all worth it and we can't wait to meet our baby!

Mid Summer Fun

Here's just a few things that we've been up to the past six weeks. The picture quality isn't great since they were taken with my blackberry but I just had to post my cute little nut!


Giana's first experience with ballet and tap. She doesn't like it at all. I'm giving it one more week and I'll put her back in gymnastics. She's been begging to go "back to the gym."


Weekly playdates with her BFF, Sarah. The girls are exactly the same age and have a ton of fun together. Sometimes, the whining and fighting rear their ugly heads. Girls will be girls..


Amusement park fun in Cleveland! Giana is quite the dare devil and seems to like all kinds of rides. Mommy (and Daddy) were a nervous wreck when she was in the airplane. Dominic has a WEAK stomach so I was shocked to find them on the merry-go-round. I just had to take this rare photo. While I would love to take her to the Ohio State Fair this year, I'm just not sure we'll make it with the baby due during the fair dates. Next year!


And what kind of summer would it be without splashing around in the fountains? We took Giana to Ballantrae Fountains in Dublin and it's so much fun! We'll be going back again soon.

I'm Special, Too

The baby will be here soon. I'm approaching 34 weeks and I'll be full term before we know it. I'm getting nervous about giving birth. I don't do well in hospitals and would prefer to come home the same day I deliver. If it's up to me, I'll be home right away. My tail bone is bothering me a little bit (I broke it while giving birth to Giana) and my doctor thinks it may break again. Ouch! I was open to having a c-section until last night. Let me just tell you about last night. Dominic and I took a one hour tour of the hospital just to make sure we know what to do and where to go, etc. It was a great tour packed full of information. More then I wanted to know. Have you ever heard the saying "ignorance is bliss?" The tour guide was a 20+ year labor and delivery nurse and she was wonderful. She was wonderful up to the part where she told us that a vaginal delivery on average was a two night stay in the hospital. A c-section hospital stay was an average of FOUR nights. You've got to be kidding me! I will be discussing this with my doctor next week! We have one final ultra sound scheduled in a couple of weeks to check the baby's size. I guess we'll be making some final decisions at that point. With all of this being said, this really isn't about me. Once you have children, it's never about you any longer. I will do what I have to do to make sure I have a healthy son. I can't wait to meet him!

On another note, I signed Giana up for a big sister class at the hospital called "I'm Special, Too." My Mom and I took her to this one hour class and it was so cute. She took a teddy bear and learned all about what to expect, how to be a good helper and what she should and shouldn't do with the baby. She was able to see where I'll be staying, (hopefully only for a day or so...did I mention that I don't like hospitals?), where she can help Dominic get snacks and she was able to see a few babies in the nursery. It was a fun class. She is adjusting really well to having a brother and we're hopeful that we can keep her happy and adjusted once he arrives.

Father's Day

Father's Day this year happened to fall over the weekend that we moved into our new house. Dominic's parents were in town so we were able to celebrate with them...by putting them to work! We took some time out to enjoy some ice cream cake from Dairy Queen (Dominic's favorite) and Giana decorated it. Daddy and Papa both loved the Curious George decorations. Dominic, thank you for being the best Daddy ever! Papa, we are so happy that you are going to be OK! We had a health scare over the past couple of weeks but everything has turned out just fine.

A "sleepover" update...I thought it was appropriate to include this picture in my Father's Day post. I previously wrote about Dominic and Giana's sleepovers. Just before we moved, the sleepovers were still a part of their evening routine. Apparently, only for Dominic though because Giana abandoned Dominic and decided to start sleeping in her own bed again. I just had to snap this picture. Even Giana decided that the floor wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep. I'm happy to report that she is doing just fine on her own in our new place. The "s" word pops up every now and then but Dominic has wised up and hasn't given in.