snow, snow, snow

I want to wash my hands, my face, my hair with snow. Those of you who know me even remotely well know that there are many reasons I love the Christmas season but there are a couple of reasons that top my list. Of course, first would be celebrating the birth of Christ and preparing for his arrival this season-that is a given. On a much different level, my second favorite part of the holidays is celebrating Bing Crosby and the arrival of White Christmas. I don't know what it is about this movie but it is my absolute favorite with A Christmas Story, Love Actually, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and It's a Wonderful Life tied right behind for second place. To be honest, I have loved this movie for so long, I cannot even remember how it all started. I do remember being quoted in the Munster High School Crier telling the entire school that I love Bing Crosby. I guess that is a sign right there that a problem exists. Of course, he is no Bryan, but that voice-oh my goodness. How could anyone NOT love Bing? And, how nice was he to fill the Pine Tree Inn full of his old service buddies to help their ole general? Amazing voice, nice guy-again, how could you not like him? Oh, ok, i guess his personal life was a little (err, a lot) dysfunctional but, really, whose life isn't in some regard? So, I have chosen my favorite Bing movie-that was easy-but to choose my favorite Bing Christmas song, that is near impossible. There are hundreds of options and I'm sure I have listened to most of them already. While Bryan prefers the Elvis Presley & Charlie Brown Christmas CDs, I am a sucker for the classic Bing and Frank songs (With a little Harry and Mariah thrown in there, too). I'm not trying to have John-Paul choose sides but since he does spend more time with me, I think he is leaning in the same direction. I have narrowed it down to 1. White Christmas-such a classic-but on my off year from going 'home' for Christmas, I can't listen to it too much or I will cry because as enjoyable Christmas in Texas will be, I doubt that it will be white... 2. Adeste Fidelas-that song is just beautiful when it is sung by anyone-with the exception of me- and 3. Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy as sung with David Bowie. Ha, even I laugh so you can as well but it's so fantastic. Individually, their voices are lovely, but together, this song is just stunning. Well, I have made the decision that-drum roll, please-this year's winner is Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy. This song trumped the others probably because the song is all about teaching our children to care about others and give of themselves to the world around them unselfishly and if they do not learn from us...who can I expect to teach them? Yes, I'm sure this song beat out the others simply because I do have this glorious little boy at home who changes constantly and his brain takes in every little thing we do. Right now he is proving that by learning new sign language words almost daily. Not only do I have to feed this growing brain with healthy, nutritious food but I need to feed his brain by teaching him how to be a good person. This job sounds easy, but I'm afraid it will be harder than trying to get him to nap.

Peace on Earth, can it be

Years from now, perhaps we'll see

See the day of glory

See the day, when men of good will

Live in peace, live in peace again

Peace on Earth, can it be

Every child must be made aware

Every child must be made to care

Care enough for his fellow man

To give all the love that he can I pray my wish will come true

For my child and your child too

He'll see the day of glory

See the day when men of good will

Live in peace, live in peace again

Peace on Earth, can it be

Can it be

May there be peace in your home and in your hearts this joyous Christmas season.

so very thankful

2008 has given us so many gifts to celebrate and be thankful for this wonderful time of year. We had a blessed and relaxing Thanksgiving visit in Munster. Yes, Bryan, Lucca, John Paul and myself all survived the 7 hour car ride home in our Honda Civic. I'm sure we get some weird looks as we drive down 80 through Ohio and Indiana with Lucca sitting in the front seat. I must admit, though, I really don't mind all that much. Don't get me wrong, I would prefer sitting up with Bryan but when it comes to long car rides, I am like a baby and fall asleep instantly. I was asleep before we left Pennsylvania on the way there and before we hit South Bend on the way home. Thankfully, Bryan is patient and John Paul likes to nap as much as I do! We spent a somewhat quiet weekend at home with most of my family (we missed you Carrie and Chris) but it was great to relax and eat and relax and eat some more. Everyone is loving watching our little guy grow since they last saw him. He is surely walking now and you can see the excitement in his face when he reaches you or the object he is walking towards-he is so proud of himself. Maybe it is because we are cheering him on like he is hitting in the winning run in the bottom of the 9th but we all smile so that is all that counts! My favorite part of our weekend was taking him to see santa for the very first time. Last year he was only one month old and I was a new mom worried about all the germs on that Santa suit! This year, The Region is celebrating the 25th anniversary of "A Christmas Story" as it was written by Jean Shepherd, a Hammond native. They had a display at the Visitors Center so we took him there to see Santa and go down the slide just like Ralphie! Well, needless to say, he HATED Santa but loved the slide!! In addition to the slide, they had great displays of the flagpole incident and, of course, the "Beautiful Awaaard" F-R-A-G-I-L-E Leg Lamp in the window. Although Gio was clueless, we had fun and can't wait to watch this very quotable movie. Hmmm, which makes me have to make a decision as to which movie to watch first "A Christmas Story" or "White Christmas". Decisions, Decisions. I'll do my best to decide while listening to some Christmas music.

birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, oh my...

I am consistently amazed at how quickly time flies. For example, Gio's first year went by as quickly as one could say "It's a Boy" and today, I find it as equally hard to realize that we have been married for five years-and they said it wouldn't last ;) In looking at our wedding pictures we have scattered through the house that day, that weekend, feels like it was yesterday. I can just close my eyes and feel the love we felt from our family and friends and I can also feel the clouds making room for the sunshine as it peeked through the stained glass onto us as we shared our vows in the Basilica. (Thankfully, there was not the weather in South Bend on our beautiful fall day as there was today-12 inches-oh my-how would you have handled that mom?). November 22, 2003 is one of my favorite days-the day that made every day since then a little happier... Everyone celebrates anniversaries in different ways-big trips-big gifts-but to us those things would have equaled another thing-big debt- so we opted for the just as wonderful family day which included napping in the middle of the afternoon with Gio in my arms as he is refusing to take naps these days. We later wandered around our favorite places-The Galleria(and my personal favorite, Janie and Jack)and Babies R Us (an almost daily ritual for me). Yes, I admit it, we are two wild and crazy kids!! We were invited, and I would have loved to be home with my family, to celebrate a family wedding but today we celebrated more than one wedding, we celebrated Jason and Karen's wedding, our wedding, our marriage, and our bella vita here in Pittsburgh! Of course, every November 22, we also celebrate the feast of Santa Cecelia and my late great-aunt Cissy who was born on this day may we all share with others our smile as she always shared hers with me. Since Gio's birthday, we have had a few rough weeks because I think I have spoiled him rotten. I never knew the challenges of parenthood until i had a baby with never-ending ear infections. It breaks my heart to hear him scream when he goes down for a nap and I just don't have the strength to make him do it. It is such a fine line-do I pick him up-or do I let him cry? Well, I refuse to make him cry if he could potentially have another ear infection so it is off to the dr's office we go on Monday! Gosh, our doctors could probably go on vacation on our co-pays alone!!! I just want to make sure he is ok before we head home to Indiana for Thanksgiving. Although he isn't napping well and leaving me zero time to accomplish anything during the day, I do like seeing his sweet, innocent face breathing softly as he lays on me and takes his nap-sigh. Other than his ear infections, Gio is changing rapidly, I can hardly keep up! He has been taking his first steps and each day he becomes a little more confident in doing so. Our favorite thing right now is when we are making sure he doesn't go too quickly with his walker on the hardwood floors, we try to guide him along but he quickly shoves our hand away and gives us an "Ahhh". He isn't very verbal yet but we sure understand what he means. Some children start walking and never stop but this little boy is taking it one step at a time-literally. Not sure if we will have time later in the week to write but we wish to all a very blessed and happy Thanksgiving.

Happy Birthday!!!

Wow, I can hardly believe that Gio's first birthday is here! With much joy we celebrated one of the last firsts that our little guy will celebrate this past week! In preparing for his big day I became mixed with much excitement and, honestly, some sadness that our little baby is now -sigh-a little boy! I certainly relived every moment(including the castor oil) of October 31-November 5, 2007 as we prepared to become parents, never knowing the crazy ride of our life were were about to begin. I can now understand why mothers call their children every year at the exact hour of their birth-it changed my life forever-why shouldn't I celebrate? Lucky for John Paul, his 8:23 pm is not too inconvenient of a time). I cannot believe how much he has developed since that day Carolyn (our midwife not my sister) told us "it's a boy"! I look at him today and see the baby I welcomed into my arms that day but I also see a little boy who has every day developed a little bit more, grown a little bit more, achieved a little bit more and made my heart grow a little bit more. In addition to his first, second, and third cupcakes, he had a wonderful Mickey Mouse birthday party that he will never remember but we have taken enough photos so he will never be able to forget. He has also officially taken his first steps. Now, I cannot say that he is officially walking but on Sunday after my dad took Carrie to the airport he took 1-2-3 itty bitty steps and you would have thought he won the Nobel Peace Prize I was so excited and so proud of him. It was fantastic because he did it for an audience and I'm glad others were able to be a part of this big moment. Before having him, I never knew how much this little boy could amaze me on a daily basis but it is true-there is no love like the love for your child.

Love-Love-Loving Fall!!!

WOW, how can anyone NOT love this fantastic time of year? Please, If you don't like fall, please let me know why this is the case. I have always loved this season and last year around this time, I loved being in our new home, taking walks surrounded by trees that take your breath away by their glorious colors and I daydreamed about sharing this with our child.All I can say is,Wow, this year has gone by so, so quickly. John Paul must take after me in some regards because I think he loves this season as much as his mom. He will sit in a pile of leaves and play with those leaves longer than I have ever seen him play with an individual toy. When we take walks, I will hand him a leaf, and unlike a toy that will be tossed on the ground, he holds such a tight grip on that leaf, inspecting it the entire time. He is always curious and taking in the sites and the sounds from his stroller perspective. We have had wonderful visits from GiGi, Aunt Carrie, Grandmommy and Grandpa the past month or so and he is pretty bored when it is just the two of us (You should see him practicaly leap into his dad's arms). I think he is saying "Come on, Mom, aren't you going to pay attention to me and spoil me every second you are awake, too"? I do try but he is certainly full of energy. I love our days together, our trips to music class and the library and everything in between, but I never knew how much energy this boy would have! I certainly give much, much deserve credit to our parents for finding the energy to raise four crazy (and brilliant and kind...) children-wow! I love being a parent for many reasons but one of the best things about being a parent, in my opinion, is that we can act like children and do things just as much for us as for John Paul. We took John Paul for his first apple picking adventure with Aunt Carrie and for his first Halloween pumpkin with his Grandmommy and Grandpa Pete. We loved these adventures, the beautiful weather, and making memories that I so badly want him to remember but I am pretty sure this family takes enough pictures to remind him!

how did I let this happen?

So,I originally thought that I would be writing on this all the time-I mean, our little boy was sleeping like an angel during the day and at night-we had it made. Unfortunately, that is not the case anymore and although I am certainly flattered that an adorable boy wants to spend all of his time with little ol' me, he does not leave me much time to sit down on the computer. I apologize for my lack of picture taking and picture sending but I do hope-pray-long-for the day when he decides to take a nap. Well, even if he doesn't, I'm sure I'll have time when he starts pre-school. This little boy is growing soooo fast-it is unbelievable. He is standing now on his own and I can tell in those amazing blue eyes that he wants so badly to move a little bit more but he finds himself just as comfortable slowly taking a break and sitting down. He absolutely loves his new car that his Gigi bought him. An unexpected surprise is that this ride on toy is also educational and we love that!!! I never thought we would be 'those' parents who would be so excited over him learning to 'open' or 'close' or 'press the button'. It may sound ridiculous but we love it and we love him which makes us really not care!!

Wow, I can't believe our John Paul is almost 9 months old. end every day has been so rewarding and such a learning process for us all. It is truly a joy to watch this little boy grow and develop. It seems like he hit the fast forward button about a month ago and has been going nonstop since. Gio has become so active and has learned to scoot which turned into a crawl, he has learned to pull himself up, which at first he was able to do just a little bit but now he can pull himself up onto anything stable that is within his reach. His newest joy is chattering all day long-it is so much fun to listen to him babble. Every day he gains a little momentum and a little more strength and he is pretty tough to keep up with but we would not have it another way! It is just so much fun to watch him explore his little world. He will sit for five minutes opening and closing my cell phone and be completely content. Although it is so enjoyable to interact and play with him, it is just as rewarding to sit back and watch him. Every day I think "this is my favorite day" but I've learned to try and take plenty of pictures and cherish these sweet moments. We have had a great summer so far and we are staying pretty busy with plenty of walks, as well as trips to the park and the library and being the sole supporters of the UDA softball team. Bryan plays a mean outfield and although the team's record isn't the best, they seem to have fun at the games as do we. Our favorite times are those that allow us just to relax and enjoy time as a family on the evenings and weekends. We enjoy trips for coffee or to the pool or relaxing with visitors when we are lucky enough to have company. Bryan has been so busy making our house a home and taking care of the hundreds of little projects on his To-Do list (not that anyone gave him the to-do list he did create it himself) so it is nice when he is able to take breaks and he isn't traveling for business. I can't believe time is moving so quickly for us although we often want time to stand still, we are so excited for the adventures that are still to come.

Summer-what's that?

How on earth can we possibly be halfway through the summer? I envisioned plenty of walks, trips to the pool and much more relaxing than has actually taken place. Oh well, now that our family is reunited in Pittsburgh, we certainly hope to spend the next few weeks enjoying some quality family time. John Paul and I had a wonderful trip to Munster earlier this month and we survived the largest storm to hit the area in years. We were pretty frustrated to have lost power for almost 24 hours but when we saw the damage that others faces, we were very lucky. Just a few blocks away families were without power for days, trees crushed rooftops and the winds literally uplifted driveways. John Paul is in his 'stranger danger' phase right now and although it is hard for everyone when he cries or turns the other way when they want to greet him, I must admit, my heart just skips a beat when he tugs his arms so tightly around my neck. Fortunately, he does come around after a few minutes and reaches out to everyone! He has so many new teeth that his smiles are hilarious and a little devilish I must admit. He always looks like he is up to something! Although we had a great trip, we were certainly glad to be reunited with Bryan and Lucca in Pittsburgh. Although it was an adventure for Bryan to return home and he returned after John Paul was sleeping, John Paul wasted no time smiling for his daddy first thing in the morning. John Paul is saying plenty of da da da da's but he hasn't yet addressed Bryan as 'da dad' but I can feel that it is coming soon. We just returned from his 9 month well-visit and he is a healthy 9 month old baby boy weighing in at 16 lb 13 oz. which only puts him in the 20th percentile for his weight; somehow, he feels much heavier than that at times. The Dr. sounded surprised when I told him he was pulling himself up on furniture and taking a few steps when holding on to the couch so we are in for some big changes soon! How exciting!

We thought this would be a great way to share what we're up to while we are so far away from our families. We'll keep you up to date on John Paul and his latest activities and we might even throw in a few bits and pieces about his parents.

It's a work in progress but we'll see how it goes.