Thursday, April 29, 2010

Love Bites


Biting has never been an issue with our children - that is until we had Gianna.

Gianna has bitten me, Gemma and Spencer. Spencer has definitely received more than his fair share of bites.

Last night - he got the monster of all bites. Gianna actually broke the skin. After trying to firmly tell her how naughty that was - I took care of poor Spencer.

I called the clinic to see if I needed to bring him in. It wasn't big enough (thank God), to require stitches, but the doctor told me to clean it three times a day and keep anti-biotic ointment on it. It's looking better already - hopefully I can stop this behavior sooner than later!

81


Happy Birthday daddy.

I love you.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Talent Show

Gemma tried out for the talent show at school and made it!!!!!

Congratulations, Gemma!

At The Mall

No, we haven't fallen off the face of the earth. I just haven't had much to blog about.

Today, that was fixed! Gianna and I went to the Mall of America and had a lot of fun. I had several things to return to various stores, and my intention was to let Gianna play afterwards - that is if she was cooperative.

Gianna was a great shopping companion. Since she "allowed" me to finish all of my errands so easily, it was time for the fun part of our day to begin.

Our first stop - Legoland.

She had a lot of fun playing with the legos - can you see the concentration on her face? We spent about 10 minutes at Legoland and then I decided to be daring and take her into the amusement park. We had a bunch of leftover points from our last visit.

She loved the rides! Here she is on the Blue's Clue ride.


She then decided to try being a truck drive. I love how she is sticking out her little tongue!
Gianna's final ride for the day was the train.

Here she is with one of her favorites....Dora!
After our time in the amusement park we headed to the food court for some fried rice and chicken (we shared). I tried feeding her, but she insisted she do it herself. I have to give Gianna credit - I was hesitant at first, but she did a great job of feeding herself with minimum mess!

It was time for our morning of fun to come to an end so we packed up and went home for nap time. The perfect end to a wonderful outing with my littlest princess!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Playground

We had a fun Sunday of doing whatever we wanted. We started out by going to the movies with Bamma and then a quick stop at a local thrift store.

Because the kids were so patient while Bamma and I shopped, (and the weather was absolutely gorgeous), I found a playground to let the kids play and run wild! It happened to be at my old elementary school - Gemma and Spencer couldn't get over the fact that I played at the same playground! It made me feel so old!

Here are some pics of the kids enjoying the beautiful spring afternoon...















Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Picnic For One

After a busy morning of errands and a doctor appointment, I made the executive decision to pick-up McDonald's for lunch. When we arrived at home, Gianna decided we should have a picnic. Even though it was just the two of us (and my butt would NEVER fit), she insisted we take out all three chairs.
Here is my girl eating grilled chicken, fries and an orange.

Me and my littlest princess. After lunch we played outside and then I had to get her in the house for her nap. That wasn't easy!

Saturday, April 10, 2010

A Proper Birthday Recap


Gemma started celebrating her birthday on Friday. First she received a beautiful flower arrangement from her daddy. I've said it before...her daddy is setting the bar very high for future suitors!
Then she received a package in the mail from Titi Edmee. A pair of cute sneakers and a $25 gift card to Claire's. I thought Gemma's eyes were going to pop out of her head when she saw that!

Now for the actual b-day party we did something a little different this year. Instead of having big party (McDonald's, bowling, JoAnn Fabrics), this year we had a mini-party at Magiquest.

We went there in December with Amanda and Joshua and had a blast. So we did decided to go back!
As part of Gemma's gift, she got the cute pink topper for her wand.
Here we are after our hour of play. (Thank you, Amanda, for being a good sport about the photo!)
After our game, we went to TGI-Friday's for a late lunch/early dinner. Plus I thought it would be fun to have the people sing happy birthday to Gemma.
Gemma did appreciate the yummy dessert, however, not the singing. I think you could tell from the video in my last post that she was a little uncomfortable.
After our long day out, we went and picked up Gianna from Bamma's house. (Thanks to mom and Evelyn for keeping her for me!) We decided to play outside for a little while.


It was a long, but fun day and I think Gemma enjoyed it. Happy birthday Gemma!!!!

Gemma's Birthday



I totally mortified Gemma by having the people at TGI-Friday's sing "Happy Birthday"! I thought she would have enjoyed it....oops!

9 Years Old

Dear Gemma,

Nine years ago today, you made my dreams come true.

You made me a mommy!

Daddy and I were so excited when we found out we were going to have a baby. We were so looking forward to your birth-day. Though your entrance into the world didn't go as we had planned - you were born perfectly healthy. And we were (and still are) so thankful for that.

You are such a fun, loving, curious, smart, creative, sensitive, thoughtful, adventurous little girl. I am so proud of the young lady you are becoming and I am so proud to be your mommy.

love you bunches,

mommy

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Milestones

I know this is a crazy picture of Spencer, but it makes me smile.

Last night as I was tucking Spencer into bed, he asked that I not turn on his night-light. So I didn't.

This morning at breakfast, Spencer shared with Gemma that he didn't sleep with his night-light and won't be needing it anymore.

Just another reminder that each and every day my babies are growing up. :'(

I'm proud that my children are happy, healthy and well adjusted. I just wish these little milestones wouldn't hurt so much...

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Easter

The children woke up to a surprise left from the Easter Bunny.
Spencer was very excited about his new Star Wars book.
Gianna couldn't wait to get the bubble machine outside!
Gemma was excited to start her new craft. She managed to wait until this evening, and it's completed!

After the children had a little time to check out the gifts, we showered, changed and headed to Gino and Linda's house. The weather was beautiful and the company was great. Shortly after we arrived, the kids were able to go on an egg hunt.


Can you tell they were eager to get out of the door! David stayed with Gianna so she wouldn't get trampled!
Quickly, all the kids scattered to find eggs in various parts of the yard.



Gianna did stop long enough for me to take this photo. On a side note - the dress she is wearing, Gemma wore for her 2-year pictures! I'm so glad I saved it!
After the hunt, I was able to get the kids to sit for a "posed" photo.

After a very delicious dinner, a bunch of us headed to an open field not too far from the house so Gino could launch some rockets. Of course, I had to sneak in a self-portrait!
While they were launching the rockets - which was really cool to watch.
Gianna and I played at the playground. (I did a quick wardrobe change before leaving for the playground!)

We had a wonderful Easter and am so glad we were able to spend it with our family.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Robotics

Our niece Amanda would be very angry with me if I posted her picture on my blog....so out of respect, I won't.....this time! So, I must include pictures of us instead!

Here are David, Gianna and Gemma.

Anyway - today David the kids and I went to watch her team compete in a robotics competition. The impressive thing is - they are high school students. Each team has mentors/parents that work with them, but ultimately the kids are the ones responsible for making the robot.


Daddy and his littlest princess.

This is Amanda's second year on the team - but the first one without her dad, John. He was really involved with the team last year, so I can only imagine how hard this was for her.


Spencer and David.

Amanda - we're so proud of you and we're so glad we were able to watch you and your team compete!!!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

At The Movies


After Gianna's afternoon nap, David and I decided to take the kids to see How to Train Your Dragon. (I just realized, Joshua is missing from the photo - he must have been in the bathroom!)

The kids loved the movie!

This was Gianna's first movie - for 2 1/2 years old, I thought she did great. We spent some time in the hallway, but overall, I think it was a good outing to the movies!