This might just be the cutest thing ever! He loves this silly dog!!

so very thankful

Thanksgiving-what a wonderful reason to stop from the hustle and bustle of this extra busy time of year and truly appreciate all of life's blessings. (I say extra busy time of year because I cannot believe how busy this fall/football/birthday/anniversary/Thanksgiving/baby season has been for this family).

Although different from any other, we had a truly wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday. We are used to-and certainly missed-extended family gatherings with too much food and non-stop fun and activities. However, due to my being 38 weeks pregnant, travel to visit either family was not possible and we enjoyed a very quiet holiday at home in Pittsburgh.

I said from very early on that I was not going to make a full Thanksgiving dinner for just the three of us but as one could guess-of course, I did! I did take a shortcut on making only a turkey breast and some purchased stuffing but the rest was from scratch and I'm somewhat pleased knowing that this far along into my pregnancy, I can still do a lot! Thankfully, I made the food and the mess and Bryan did the cleaning up afterward because if it were left up to me, the dishes would probably still be in the sink! I think the biggest hit was the homemade apple pie. Today at dinner Gio, who was eating his leftover turkey, gave me his plate and said 'apple pie'-he is just like his mother!! We ate early so that we were literally able to do nothing the rest of the day-a rare treat for Bryan and I. Gio truly loved having our undivided attention and a special treat of watching 'dogs' aka 101 Dalmations!

We cherished the day as a family of three, knowing that things are about to change very, very soon!! This is such a special time in our lives with Gio. It is so much fun to share in his world and we cannot wait to experience all of this joy again with another baby! We are so thankful for the blessings in our lives and yesterday was a great day to sit back, relax, and focus on just that.

Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all!!

Happy Birthday, Gio!

It is so hard to believe that two years ago today, we brought our little guy home from the hospital and our lives changed forever..for the better, of course!!

We had a great day celebrating our little boy this year and although it was a very low key celebration--it was still plenty busy. I find myself becoming much more tired much more quickly these days and Thursday was no exception but it was totally worth it to just see the joy in his face throughout the day.

Bryan and I have plenty of different family traditions from our upbringing. In regards to birthdays, he grew up opening presents first thing in the morning and I grew up opening presents after dinner and before cake. So, as we so often find ourselves doing, we compromised. Gio woke up to open a few gifts from his daddy's family and the rest were saved for the evening. He also received his kitchen from Aunt Carrie in the morning since daddy was so nice to put it together for him the night before. He loved all of his gifts and is so lucky to be loved by so many generous people!

I took Gio to a mommy and son breakfast at Panera and although Panera isn't that original, he really loved being able to take his bagel and sit at the fountain at a small indoor mall we have near our house. He threw in his obligatory pennies and had fun 'dip, dip' dipping his bagel in the cream cheese. He loves fountains and I wonder what he wished for on his special day! I know that I wished that special moment would not end. I truly love seeing his sweet personality emerge.

We also took Gio's two year old pictures on his birthday before we met daddy for lunch! What a treat that was for all of us! We love spending time as a family and have not been able to do that very often lately as Bryan has been very busy at work. It was nice to have lunch at a restaurant (Gasp) where one of us wasn't running around, someone brought us extra silverware to replace that which was dropped on the floor, refilled our drinks, and even did the dishes. It was glorious to sit down with my guys...I didn't want to leave but Redbeards probably wouldn't have waited on me all day. Oh, the name of the restaurant was Redbeard's, not the server.

The rest of the day was picture perfect-naptime, dinner as a family (this time at home), and cake time!! Gio waited patiently all day for his cake even though he wanted it as soon as he woke up because the previous day we told him 'tomorrow you can have cake'! Well, he is pretty smart and expected it immediately!!

At two years old, Gio has certainly reshaped our lives and I'm sure his baby brother will do the exact same all over again! We never imagined that we would find more happiness in staying home raking leaves or kicking a ball around the track then going out and spending money. He has certainly helped us become better people, enjoy the little things, and smile much more often. I have always been a relatively happy person but he brings so much more happiness into our lives-it is amazing. Every time he runs to give us a hug, says our name or just smiles at us melts our hearts. We are truly blessed parents of one amazing little two year old! Happy Birthday, Gio!!

The perfect Day

What a wonderful Halloween we had yesterday. Gio's Halloween fun started a little early with Aunt Carrie arriving on Friday night. He was adorable at the airport waiting for her, crying "Kah-eee" and was very disappointed when she was not included in the large groups of travellers coming down the escalator. When i told him he had to look for Aunt Carrie, he would put his arm over his eyes as though he was searching for her. Of course, when he did finally see her, he was shy as could be and only wanted mommy!! Although Friday was a beautiful fall day, Saturday was not so great!! We had plans to meet several friends for the Mt. Lebanon Halloween parade but that quickly turned into an impromptu Halloween party at our house because of the wind and rain. Although the kids probably would have had fun, their ages ranged between 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 and we knew that they would probably never remind us that we ruined their lives by not taking them to the parade!!! We all had a great time in the warm house with good friends and a sweet peacock, cheetah, lion, and dragon!! The kids all did amazingly well and played so nicely together. It was great to see Gio just have an all out fun day! There aren't many days when he is able to have a cupcake and cookie for lunch but he loved it and was totally in his element running around the house, energized by his little friends (and the sugar). Of course, the sugar and excitement meant that he did not nap but he was quite funny trying to wake daddy up from his!! Bryan was very sweet, leaving for work on a Saturday @ 5:45am so that he could be home to enjoy the festivities!! He enjoyed a great walk with Aunt Carrie, exploring every square inch of the street, every leaf, and every acorn he came across. I'm not sure who had more fun, though! It is so fun to see him explore his surroundings and soak in all that is around him. Our little lion loved his costume and when Carrie showed him his whiskers in the mirror, he thought he was a cat! He was excited to go 'tih-tea' and after the obligatory pictures, he set out with mom and dad to hit the neighborhood. Trick or treating started at 6 and he was home by 6:30!!! He was adorable and could have cared less about receiving candy from the neighbors, he just wanted to follow the big kids. As we walked in the street, he just said 'kids', 'kids' and would run after the other kids!! By the time he came home, we watched a little bit of the the Charlie Brown Halloween special (obligatory, we think) and he looked like the most tired little lion we have ever seen. I was just so impressed by what a great little boy he was yesterday and was so proud to be his mom. He had such a blast with his friends, playing with his Aunt and just enjoying the joys of being a little boy on Halloween. He has his big day on Thursday and we find so much joy in seeing Gio laugh at ring around the rosie, enjoy this simple things like a new pumpkin flashlight, and being an all around happy little boy that has steals our heart a little more every day!