Almost a year past...

This time last year I was getting ready to meet my new little man.  I remember I couldn't sleep and woke up super early.  Who knew I'd be so excited to go and have surgery.  I woke up and it was such a beautiful day.  There wasn't a cloud in the sky, I couldn't imagine a better day to have a baby.  And now here I am on the eve of Donato's arrival a year later.  Boy has time flown by...

It's amazing to watch these little babies grow everyday.  I cannot believe how much they can learn in a matter of minutes.  Just tonight he learned that he can fill up a bucket of water when the water in the tub is filling up.  I sat there for a good 10 minutes just watching him fill it up and dumping it out.  He quickly learned that he needed both hands in order to fill it up otherwise it dropped.  A true genius my kid is!

Having a second child is so different then the first.  With Isabella I always wanted her firsts to happen.  I couldn't wait until her 1st birthday.  I was so happy she was turning one.  Now it is bitter sweet with Donato.  After him, there may be no more babies, he could be the last.  So the thought of my last baby growing up really makes me enjoy every minute so much more.  I find myself getting teary eyed as I get things ready for his 1st birthday party.  I don't want to say I didn't appreciate Isabella when she was a baby.  But I guess I just appreciate things in a different way with Donato.  Now I know how fast things go because she's almost 5!  When people tell you they grow quick they aren't kidding.  I try and savor every little moment with him.  

He has just started talking.  His first word was "hi" and he sometimes will mutter "I love you." You wonder for so long what their little voices will sound like then when you finally hear it it's even better then you imagined it would be.  

In one short year he has turned into a handsome little man with his own unique personality.  I cannot wait to see what kind of little boy he's going to become.  Happy Birthday Eve little man.  Your Mommy loves you!

more veggies please

Isabella is a great veggie eater and always has been. The other night she put a heaping second helping on her plate of tomatoes and cucumbers.  Danny bet her that she could not finish them all.  Granted it was a lot of veggies but I would not bet $100 bucks against a 4 1/2 year old.  What did Isabella do?  She finished them all!  He tried getting off with giving her $1 but she quickly realized that it wasn't a one hundred dollar bill.  His mom and I insisted that he give her the money because it was him that started the whole thing.  He was a man of his word and did give her the money but being that he didn't have a hundred dollar bill on him, Isabella was happy to settle for the fifty that he did have.  Yesterday she went shopping and treated herself to some new pj's and a pair of shorts.  That will teach him to challenge her!

Dinner gone wild!

Well the time of wild, food throwing meal times has finally arrived!  With Isabella I never had any of these issues.  She was the neatest little eater.  Nothing was ever on her face or high chair.  She just got fussy when she was full.

Mr.Donato on the other hand is a true little boy.  This picture says it all.  Every day the mess gets bigger and bigger.  He swats at the spoon like he's trying to kill a fly.  He brushes his hair with whatever is on his tray.  This morning he used the grape jelly on his English muffin as hair gel.  I mean, why not right?

As annoying as his little habit has become, I love to see his little personality emerge.  He is a very stubborn boy who knows what he wants.  He likes to make noise and the louder the better.  As his first birthday approaches I can't wait to see what else this little boy has in store for us.

Open the garage

Trying to feed two very hungry children who eat two different things at the same time is not an easy task. I asked Isabella if she thought she could handle feeding Donato. Of course, in true big sister fashion she said sure! So I showed her how to do it and the rest is history. She's a pro!

I was in the kitchen listening to the antics going on in the other room and I hear a plethora of coercing going on. The best one was, "Come on Donato, open the garage because here it comes." I love it! She thought of that one liner all on her own. I swear she's a 40 year old stuck in a 4 1/2 year old body.

sleeping in...a thing of the past

Sleeping in has long been a thing of the past for me. Long gone are the days of sleeping until 1 in the afternoon. I have come to accept it as my new reality. When Isabella was small we would get up at 8 which is totally doable. Now, with Mr.Donato we get up at 6ish everyday. That's a tad early, but again doable. I never thought I'd see the day where I would not sleep until at least noon. It feels like just yesterday. Now, I don't think I could sleep till noon if I tried! When Isabella was small and she would have a sleep over we would be impressed if we slept until 9:30. Donato hasn't slept away from me since he was born but I would imagine I'd be up by 8 in his absence.

Let me preface this statement with, I know I sound like my mother. But I feel like the whole day is wasted away if I sleep too late. As a mom, there are just so many things that need to be done. If you sleep in you loose at least 2 hours of precious time. Time that can be used in an insurmountable number of ways. If this mommy didn't get up in our house Donato would still be in his crib, Isabella would eat candy for breakfast and Bronx would still be barking at the door to go out. So next time you are tired from getting up early think about all you accomplish while everyone else sleeps. Think about what wouldn't happen if you stayed sleeping. It's nice to feel needed.

And if Dad slept in...well that's a story for another day!

Through a Gigi's eyes

We are so blessed to still have my Grandma (Gigi) around. She has been spoiling me my whole life but my kids get all her love ten fold. When my sister and I were small my Grandma was still working so she enjoyed us but not as much as she enjoys my kids. She doesn't work anymore, maybe one day a week for bingo money but can ya blame a gal?

She wants to be with my kids any chance she gets. She drives to our house 1 or 2 days a week, 45 minutes one way to see them. It started out her coming because I needed help with the baby but he's now 10 months old and she's still coming. I don't know who is happier to see who when she arrives, the kids or Gigi.

I love to watch her watch them. They truly make her happy. She gets such a kick out of the quirky things Isabella says. You can tell how much she loves them and that makes me happy. I feel like I have given her a gift, I guess there is no better gift then great-grand children. She is so proud of them. All the ladies at Bingo know who Isabella and Donato are and are always asking her about them. She shows their pictures off every week. Every now and again the kids and I make a guest appearance at Bingo on Monday night. You would think a celebrity walked in the way people flock around the kids. I actually had someone stop me in the grocery store and say hi to Isabella. The woman recognized her from a picture Gigi had shown her.

Lots of people have grand kids but how many people have great-grand kids? It's like a bonus God gives to people. I have so many fond childhood memories of my Grandma. I hope my kids will have those same memories of her. They all get so much joy from being around each other. I hope this can continue for many more years. There are many more memories for Isabella and Donato to make with their Gigi.

Down at Fraggle Rock

I usually dread morning cartoons. In my opinion, the quality of cartoons has gone down hill since my cartoon days. Well this morning, with some resistance I put on the Hub for Isabella and to my surprise Fraggle Rock was on! It took some convincing but I got her to watch it. In the end she was just as delighted with it as I was.

Our kids don't know what a good cartoon is. Remember Gummi Bears, Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers, David the Nome, Duck Tales? Now that's a good Cartoon. There needs to be a throw back cartoon channel with all of the above. Sure there is Boomerang but it lacks in the bulk of goodness that was the cartoons of the 80's.

But in the mean time....

"Dance your cares away,

Worry's for another day.

Let the music play,

Down at Fraggle Rock."