And Baby Makes Four

Dear Aiden,

You were born on July 1, 2011. It was a Friday. It was HOT! Mommy and Daddy were so excited to finally meet you and see your tiny face for the first time. The week before your birth Mommy was in and out of the hospital for blood pressure monitoring and to make sure you were o.k. Everything was fine of course and my c-section was scheduled for the following Friday. This was the Friday before The 4th of July so my doctor had several cancellations that day and so decided to move the c-section up a few hours. Daddy rushed to get his scrubs on and was so nervous, but he was mostly anxious about the surgery and wanted both of us to be o.k. We were. Here we are ready to go in to the operating room. Gammy, Papa, Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie Nicole, and Auntie Lindsay weren't even at the hospital yet!

At 11:30 you were born and you were perfect! You weighed 8 lbs and 1 oz. We were so happy to hear your little cry and couldn't wait to see you. You looked just like your big brother and our family was forever blessed! Daddy and I were so happy to have you here!

Daddy stayed with you while the doctors took care of Mommy. The surgery went fine and we were headed to recovery.

Right from the start you were a perfect baby! You would eat and went right back to sleep. You liked being swaddled tight and laying on Mommy's chest. You hardly ever cried in the hospital. All the nurses thought you were a great baby! I was in love with you and couldn't stop staring at you. I missed Leo though. This was the first time ever I had spent the night away from him! I couldn't wait for him to meet you!

On July 4th we were being discharged from the hospital and I was SO happy to be going home to our house and to my own bed!!! We had everything ready for you and Grandma and Grandpa were home with Leo. Daddy got you buckled in to your carrier and we got on the road. It was a beautiful hot day. After being in the hospital for 4 days, I was so happy to breathe in some fresh air.

We were on our way.......

When we got home, Leo was rediculously excited to have Mommy, Daddy, and you home! He wanted to hold you and look at you right away. He was suddenly a big brother after being the baby for 2 1/2 years, and he jumped right into it.

Daddy was and still is so proud of you and Leo. He loves you both and can't wait to teach you new things and make new memories with his two boys!

You are so dear to my heart and I love being your Mommy! You have made our family complete and I didn't know we weren't complete until God blessed us with you. For now and forever you will remain this way, close to my heart.

Always remember: "No one else will EVER know the strength of my LOVE for you. After all, you're the ONLY ONE who knows what my Heart sounds like from the inside......"

Welcome to the world sweet boy.

Love Always,

Mommy

xoxo

Waiting, Waiting.....

We are (not so patiently) awaiting the arrival of little Aiden!!! It has been a long 9 &1/2 months and I'm ready to move on to the newborn stage. My C-section is scheduled for tomorrow July 1, 2011 at 12:00 pm. I think we are ready.....the Pack & Play is set up, the nursery is all ready, diapers & wipes are in abundant supply, & my bag is packed for the hospital. We cannot wait to see his little face and introduce Leo to his little brother! Sal is getting off work early today and going to my last doctor appointment with me. Leo is at Mrs. Kim's for the day (thank goodness for Mrs. Kim). Tomorrow will be a crazy, exciting, nerve racking, wonderful day. Gammy, Papa, Auntie Nicole, Auntie Lin, Grandma, & Grandpa will be there to meet Aiden when he arrives. We are praying for a smooth and speedy operation and can't wait to hear his little cry. Looking forward to all the wonderful moments to come and lots of pictures to post! Until then friends,

Ciao!!!! :)

Weekend Fun with Daddy

This past weekend was so fun! Salvo had 4 days off, so we wanted to make he best of it but it was sooooooo cold, I mean unusually cold for So Cal!! There was snow on our local mountains behind our house.....that cold! So we did a few fun things close to home.

On Saturday morning we bundled up and went out to breakfast.......we never do this, I think I've taken Leo out to breakfast one time in his short life. Anyway, I had no groceries in the house and it rained all day Friday and I HATE going to the store in the rain, so the only way to feed my family was to bundle up the monkey (both of them) & head out to breakfast!!!

As you can see, we ended up here........

We only go here for breakfast and it has been a long time, so we decided to belly up to the sticky Denny's menus and tables....I had lots of wipes with me!

Leo ate little bits from our plates. He had pancakes,waffles, fruit, eggs, and bacon....a new experience for him because I don't buy bacon unless a recipe calls for it, but he loved all of it's crunchy salty goodness! I think his breakfast was better than ours!

Thank goodness for restaurants providing these crayons and coloring book things....it keeps him quiet for abut 6 minutes, but at least it's something and he's getting better at coloring now so he is interested in it!

On Sunday we decided to get out of the house and go to the park. It was surprisingly warmer and turned out to be a perfect day to play at the park! As you can see Monkey is in tow, LOL!

Daddy played with Leo for a long time at the park. He took him on the "big kids" play area and down the big slides.

He pushed him on the swings and made him laugh really hard because daddies are funny. Monkey liked the swing ride too!

While we were there, Leo discovered a new love for picking up the mulch that covers the play area and throwing it in the air and laughing hysterically....this is what he was doing in this pic!

It was a fun time at the park followed by a trip to Miguel's drive thru, perfect day!

Daddy took Monday off too, we were so lucky......and Mommy was so lucky to have help with the rambunctious toddler for four days in a row!!!

Leo got this Mickey Mouse tent as a Christmas gift from his Uncle Lenny and Auntie Kim. It is really cute and Daddy put it together on Monday. They had a ball paying in it and pretending like it was a house. Leo kept bringing different toys in and out and piling all he could into his little tent.......I think he might be a hoarder, lol!

While I made dinner (I'll blog that meal later) they played piggy back rides and did all that rough house stuff that daddies are so good at!! This one is really cute!

Little boys definitely need a daddy around to do all the fun stuff that mommies are too tired and pregnant to do! Thanks babe for a fun weekend & Leo thanks you too!

Until next time friends........Ciao!!

xoxo

Playing Outside & Lunch with the Girls

The weather has been cold here lately so we haven't had a lot of chances to play in the yard. But there comes a time when a toddler (and a mommy) get so tired of playing in the house and watching the same Little Einsteins episodes over and over that we start to go stir crazy..........so we decided to bundle up and go out to play in the backyard and boy oh boy, did Leo have a ball!!

He is really into throwing and kicking ANY kind of ball.........

He also sees his daddy planting things in the yard and digging holes, so he likes to pretend he is gardening as well. Here he is playing in the dirt/mud with his plastic gardening tools.

The flock of birds in the sky were very interesting......."Ook, Mommy! Birds in ky!"

FYI: He is wearing his Lightning 'Queen' (That's what he calls it) jacket that his friends Madison and Riley gave him for Christmas....you'll see them in the last part of this post.

Anyway.......

Leo's other love is ANY kind of toy car!!!! If it rolls, he'll play with it! He rediscovered these cars outside that have been sitting in his wagon for a few months now. They are the kind you pull back and let go.....he was occupied by this for a while! Oh yeah, he also likes to line up his cars like a choo choo. I think that is what he was doing here.....

Hmmmmm, what should I do next?

Actually at this point, Mommy was pretty cold so we went in for juice and a snack! It was fun playing in the backyard! I hope the weather gets warmer soon so we can play outside more often!!!

Ok, so on to lunch with the girls.......

Leo and I hosted a lunch/playdate for Gammy, Maryrose, Kristi, Madi & Riley...wow that's a lot of girls! Maryrose and Kristi also gave me those beautiful tulips at the top of my blog! They are so thoughtful!

Anyway, we try to get together with them every few months! The Pidgeons have known the Kelleys for a very long time and now that Kristi and I have kids around the same age, we are having fun getting together and letting them play. It also gives the moms a chance to chat and enjoy beverages and yummy treats.

Here is the table I set before we sat down to eat. I didn't take a lot of pictures as I was getting the kids set up with their lunches. The menu consisted of Mozzarella, Prosciutto & Basil Paninis with a yummy Pesto-Mayo spread, Italian Pasta Salad, chips, and Hefeweizens for our beverage (No, I didn't have any beer, I had lemonade people!)

Oh yeah, and White Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookies for dessert :)

Leo was in his highchair while Madi and Riley sat at his little table to eat their lunch. The kids' lunch was grilled cheese sammiches, grapes, goldfish, and Juicy Juice. I think they enjoyed this gourmet treat!

As you can see, we ate in the Lion's Den (the playroom)......this is where all the mayhem, screaming, and playing happens! One day I will get this room looking like a real dining/living room, but right now it is serving its purpose.

After we ate, the three kiddos wanted to play on the piano.....this was really cute! Riley really thought she was reading the sheet music, lol, and Leo thought he was teaching them what to do!!

Another shot from the back!

Well, as you can see Leo and I have been busy since I've been on vacation! It is so nice to have a month off at a time to relax, play, and reconnect with friends! Such a blessed life!!!!

Ciao Friends!

Boy Crazy!

Well, my little Leo will have a little brother in July! We found out yesterday that we will be welcoming our second son into our little family! This is the balloon I tied to Sal's chair when he got home from work. He didn't want me to tell him what we were having on the phone. I think he was happily surprised to see that it was not a girl (he really wanted two boys), but he would have been happy either way, as I would.

Of course this means I am now waaaaaayyyyy outnumbered in this household. But I have had about 17 hours to think about having two boys, and I am excited to see how they will interact with each other. I know Leo will be a great big brother and teach his lil' bro all kinds of cool things like how to throw a ball, ride a bike, and sing his ABC's. I'm sure he will also teach him things like how to get put in

"Time Out" and how to act cute like saying: "I sowy Mommy" to get out of a punishment, lol!

Anyway, here are a couple pics from the ultrasound yesterday. One is a profile view and the other is a look at his little face.

No name yet for this little guy! But until he has one, he will be my little peanut that I can't wait to meet in just 5 months! Hurry up and grow little guy so we can make our family of three a family of four!

XOXO

From, Your Mommy

Sugar & Spice or Snails & Puppy Dog Tails???

Today we find out if lil' peanut is a girl or boy....hopefully! My ultra-sound is at 3:30, and I can't wait! I found out what I was having with Leo way before this. It seems like I've waited forever to get a peek at this lil' one. 18 weeks yesterday so, things should be visible :)

Will update when we know....fingers crossed for a healthy update, which is what really matters anyway!!

My 31st Birthday

Well, another year has come and gone and since I am pregnant with baby #2, I guess I don't feel too old.....Yes, I am 31. Almost three years older than when I had Leo and I think I have learned some things since then....

1. No matter how much I love my job and want to make everything perfect for my students, Leo and Salvo are the most important people in my life and they WILL always come first.

2. I'm becoming more and more like my mom (D.P.) all the time, it's not a bad thing :)

3. I REALLY miss my sister Nicole especially when we have parties like this and there just seems to be something missing.....love you Skitch!

4. Life is what you make it & attitude IS everything (I know, a cliche' but soooooo true)

Anyway, enough about the lessons my 30's have brought me, back to the party. My mom and dad hosted and the house looked as charming as ever!

Mmmmmmm, yet one more of life's enjoyments off limits while pregnant.....oh well, 5 more months or so :)

These are my mom's Shrimp and Avocado Crostini!! They were DELISH and I was not hungry for dinner since I ate like 6 of them!

The hostess with the mostest!

The best part of the party of course was the people! Here are a few shots of the fam! The short one with the monkey is especially handsome!

Me and my Besties!

The Giacalone Men

The Ladies!

The Pidgeon Men & Ba June

Leo, Monkey, and Ba June reading a story....this one is precious!

My two boys! I love them!

Thanks to my mom and dad for hosting such a fun and relaxing evening for this old girl! I loved every second and feel so blessed. Here's to another year filled with family, fun and food of course, haha! Looking forward to baby #2 arriving this summer and all of the adventures having two kids brings....yikes!!

Ciao!! xoxo