It's Paczki Day

Happy Paczki Day! (pronounced poon-ch-key)

We started our day by taking Bryan to the Party Cake Shop to pick up some Paczki for the office. As we waited in the car for him, every couple of minutes there were people walking out with paczki by the dozen. It was hard to not ask them for one but I was able to keep myself busy by singing along with Gio's cd (and yes, he was in the car). Finally,after what seemed like hours, bryan arrived in slow motion with the golden donuts. Oh my, I just wanted to eat mine in the car right there but I thought I could have some self-respect and wait until I was able to pair it with a cup of coffee. I mean, what would bryan think if I dropped him off at the "T" with sugar and chocolate all over my face and the steering wheel?

I paired my chocolate-filled paczki with a cup of joe and Gio paired his with a sippy cup of milk. Like with most new foods, it took him a few tries before he became accustomed to the taste but he eventually took a few bites. I'm pretty sure it was the sweetness of the sugar-covered donut filled with jam that shocked him a bit. He still preferred the banana to the paczki so there is hope that he takes after Bryan after all. And, no, he did not eat an entire days worth of calories in one paczki but just had a few nibbles after I scraped off most of the sugar and the jam....Yes, Yes, family, I know I am just a terribly mean mother. Don't worry, I didn't let any of it go to waste!! I love living this quiet life in Pittsburgh with Bryan and John-Paul but today is a day that I wish I was closer to my family. Although Bryan enjoys a good paczki once a year, these are certainly things that I enjoy sharing with my sister.. We are so obsessed with maintaining our Polish traditions (err, primarily those that involve food) that we do not judge, yet we embrace, our love for a glorified donut (or six) on Fat Tuesday. I've also included a few pictures of John-Paul's romp in the snow yesterday. I made the mistake of dressing him in his coat, snowpants and mittens first before getting myself ready. I will only make this mistake once. I felt so bad for him but also found it just a little bit humourous that he had to work so hard to stand up on his own. He has mastered walking but that extra padding made it extra tough for him to move around. He kept holding his hand out for me to help him walk-it was precious. I was glad to have a fun little activity for us to do since we had no plans to leave the house yesterday. Unfortunately, by the time we were opening the garage, I realized how foolish this mom can be at times (most). I thought to myself 'is it really the best idea to take a little boy out in the snow who is just getting over a cold?' hmmm...probably not. So, here are a few pictures of our 2 1/2 minutes (seriously, that's it) playing in the snow and playing in the dining room-which was just as fun!

Happy early birthday to Maribeth---who, as luck would have it, celebrates her birthday on Ash Wednesday. So, Bets, go ahead, eat that extra paczki!

visitors galore!

Wow! 2009 has been off to a fantastic start for us here in Pittsburgh! The Steelers are Superbowl Champions and we have been blessed with a houseful of visitors to help us celebrate the New Year (and the victory)!! When Bryan and I moved to Pittsburgh, we never imagined how generous family and friends would be with their time and plan many wonderful visits to keep us company and keep us connected! I cannot even count the number of times my sister Carrie has been out this year alone! We had a wonderful, relaxing time ringing in the new year with Carrie and Chris, relaxing and laughing with Heather and Lindsay, becoming true Steelers fans at the Strip District with Maribeth and reading stories with Grandpa John. My mom also arrives this week and we hope that Bryan's mom will be able to make a visit this March as well. I need to get better about visiting others as well...maybe when it is warmer and I feel less like a hermit! John-Paul has been growing and changing daily and it is such a joy to see him develop. Yesterday Bryan and I just loved teaching him 'Ring around the Rosie' because he looked like he loved every second of it. He walked around in a circle holding our hands and fell down and giggled-it was precious. We need to take some video for sure!! He is really enjoying being read to right now which is just wonderful. He will bring you a book and sit in your lap and actually listen to an entire story. In the past you would be lucky to read a sentence before he was off to play with something else (usually that playing would include tearing every book off of his bookshelves). He hasn't quite caught on to talking too much yet--he must take after his quiet daddy. Everything he wants is 'dhat' . Cookie =dhat. Book = dhat. Shoe = dhat. there is one exception to his 'dhat' rule and that is dada. Dada is always dada and momma is always dada as well! ah, one day he will start saying momma and I will probably give him lots of hugs and kisses for doing so. For now, I will just give him lots of hugs and kisses for being my sweet, wonderful little boy!

Happy 2009!

looking back...looking forward

Why does this time of year go by so very quickly? We plan and plan and plan some more and then I procrastinate, procrastinate, and procrastinate some more and before I know it-it is over. It is such a beautiful time of year that we all love so much and it is so sad to see it come to an end. This year, I must admit, was a little bit different. I didn't rush around in a buying frenzy and I still haven't shipped all of my presents to my family in Indiana (sorry about that guys). I wasn't necessarily in the Christmas spirit this season as I usually am but when I was, I just wanted to spend time listening to music with my little boy and relaxing at home. We had it easy this year because Gio doesn't quite understand Santa so we have another freebie year and will definitely have to be better about being prepared next year. However, we so badly want to try and celebrate the true reason for the season and not let ourselves get too wrapped up in the commercial aspect of Christmas. I'm sure that is most parents' goal, but when you want to give your child the very best of everything, that goal can easily go by the wayside. Check back with us in December and we'll see how it is going.... 2008 was a great year for our family and we are so blessed to have witnessed this little boy grow and develop into such an amazing little toddler. I can't believe in just a year he went from being our little baby to our little boy-it truly is a miracle. I know that 2009 will be filled with much more laughter and many more big accomplishments for Gio. I am confident that our family's guardian angel will protect us and bring us daily smiles and we look forward to this new year and can't wait to see what 2009 has to offer us. We wish all of our familiy and friends the very best that life has to offer this year. May each day be a new beginning full of hope. May you always know that you are cared about. May you grow from each challenge you face. May you be surrounded by the love of family and friends always.

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.