Luca and his funny conversations...

Yesterday before bedtime I gave the kids a snack.  As they were taking their time eating their grapes we were singing our ABC's, Baa Baa Black Sheep and some other nursery rhymes.  Then Luca and I were trying to make conversation and he said "I'm a man."  I said "Oh really? And what is Olivia?"  He said "She's a butterfly."  It was really sweet.  He must be catching on that we're having a Purple Butterfly themed Birthday party for Olivia this year.

Today was the Royal Wedding.  I wasn't one of those who woke up early to watch it, although, I did DVR it.  When Luca woke up this morning he normally watches his cartoons but I changed the channel to see the end of the ceremony.  When Luca saw Kate he said "That's Zia!"

He says so many funny things everyday and I hate that when I go to write some of them down I can't remember.  This age is so fun with their personalities.

Olivia ate so well when we were at my parents house and when we came home she got car sick and threw up all over the car, car seat and on herself.  Poor girl ate so much from the restaurant that I think it was a bad idea that we ate and left immediately.  Cleaning it up was nasty.  We removed and washed the car seat, cleaned it with disinfectant, and I had to use a toothpick to get it out of all the tiny little crevices.  Anyway, since we've been back home she hasn't been eating well at all.  Yesterday I took her to the doc because the night before she had a fever but wouldn't let us take her temp in her ear so I thought maybe she had an ear infection.  No ear infection.  They also checked for strep again and it was negative.  They said that they see more of her top teeth coming in and she could have had a low-grade fever from teething and that could be why she doesn't want to eat.  I'm hoping she will feel better soon.

To-To The Bunny

We had a really nice Easter with my family this year. My parents bought the grandkids this bunny that they named "To-To." The kids loved what they thought was The Easter Bunny.

The kids love running in my parents backyard.

Luca and Olivia are always happy to see my parents neighbors horses (can you see one over Luca's right shoulder?)

It was a cute bunny but I'm glad it was just temporary. 

Hope you had a Happy Easter!

Mary, Chris and Gabri with The Easter Bunny.

Such a Flirt!

Corey and I took the kids to Chipotle, their favorite place.  That's one of the only places where the kids actually eat pretty well and it's healthier than taking them to a fast food chain so we are always happy to take them there, especially since we like it, too!  Anyway, we were all sitting at our table eating our burrito bowls and Luca started to drink his water and he had this glazed look and the water came out of his mouth.  Corey and I both thought something was wrong with him and we asked if he was ok and he wasn't really responding to us, he was just staring, and finally he snapped out of it and said "What's her name?" and I turned around and there was this really pretty woman behind us!  Corey and I were relieved he was ok but started to bust out laughing because he was in awe of this woman that his jaw literally dropped. 

Potty Time!

Today as I was running Olivia's bath and getting her undressed she told me "I need to go pee pee in the potty." So I put her on the potty and she went!!!  I was so proud of her that she could feel she needed to go and communicated it to me.  While we were in Michigan, we would put her on the potty and she would sit on it which is very good but she wouldn't go, but as soon as we put her in the tub she would go and would say "I go potty!"  These are all good signs that she's getting ready but I don't think I'll be ready until this summer.  It takes lots of time and patience so I think I will wait a couple more months for that.

Olivia and Luca both hate getting their hair wet which is a huge challenge b/c bathtime just isn't so fun anymore.  It used to be so fun b/c they were so happy during bathime and would play and splash and now I dread it b/c they refuse to get their hair wet and try to get out of the bathtub when we do get their hair wet.  It's very frustrating and I hope this passes very quickly. 

Olivia is talking really well and in full sentences.  This morning when she woke up she said "I want to see the bunny rabbit, where's Nonno and Nonna?"  I could tell she missed them this morning.

Gabri's Playdate Party

So my parents computer is driving me nuts and the pics are NOT in the order I was trying to get them in so......

Here's the Bday girl

Luca was so excited to eat one of the owl cake pops.

Gabri had her playdate Bday party today. Here's a great pics of all the cousins together.

Here are the girls hanging out in G's room.

Here's the Bday girl!

Isn't her room so cute? My parents bought all of her bedding from Pottery Barn and it's of course, OWLS!

Gabri's playmates they are all within weeks of eachother - they are so close in age.

Gabri's 1st Birthday

We celebrated Gabri's 1st Birthday on Monday and my sister did an excellent job with every single detail of the party. She is soo good at what she does. I am having trouble posting the pics on my blog b/c I'm using my parents computer and it's taking FOREVER to upload them but I'm sure most of you saw the pics on my FB account. It was a great party.

Tu Tu Cute!

This isn't the best pic, I'm only posting this so you can see all her teeth! She has a total of 6 right now. (She kind of looks like the cartoon character in the movie Up).

Here is a picture of Ellie from the movie Up who I think O looks like b/c of her teeth. BTW Olivia's favorite movie is UP. She loves it!

She is having so much fun with Nonno.

I totally forgot about this tutu jammy that my friend Rachel bought when O was born.  She was so happy to twirl around in it.

She is so happy to see her Nonno and Nonna.

I am too! 

Luca is, too!

Luca always comes to our room when he wakes up.  Now he comes in our room and says "Can I go see Nonno and Nonna?" and he goes in their room and lays in bed with them for a little bit.

They are going on a "vacation" to Michigan tomorrow and Corey and I are coming on Friday so they'll have a few days with Nonno and Nonna on their own. 

Luca was so excited to pack his stuff in his new suitcase he got at Xmas.  This is the 1st time they get to use their suitcases.  He even helped me pack his clothes!  I will of course miss them but I am looking forward to getting so much done while they are not here.  We've decided to list our home after Easter so I've got to clean out my closet and get this house "staged."  Corey will be working on a ton of projects around the house while I'll be in Michigan for a week.  It's amazing that even though this house is brand new, getting flat paint was not a good idea with 2 kids.

Easter Bunny Visit...a Success!

My playgroup and some others from my moms group met at Easton today to take a picture with the Easter bunny. I can't believe how well all the kids did with the bunny. Out of all these kids, no one shed a tear!

So, I originally bought Olivia this super cute Easter dress, then I tried coordinating colors since she has green in it, I bought Luca's outfit, and I also bought myself a purple dress for Easter and Corey bought a purple polo. Well, I should have had O try the dress on. It said it was 18 Months thinking 18 to 24 months but it was really tight around her rib cage and she kept saying "too tight!" She was miserable in the dress and it was so short she looked like shirley temple. I ended up buying her a new dress and now all of our coordinating outfits for our photo session won't be so coordinating!

Nonno and Nonna came along to visit with the Easter bunny and they've been a huge help.

It looks like Luca needs to go to the bathroom...maybe it's the fountains?

I LOVE THIS PIC!  My fav!

This one was cute, too.  I just took it in front of White Barn Candle Shop in the mall and it had the cutest spring colors that matched Luca's outfit.  It looks so Pottery Barn!

Luca calls this and any other button up shirt he owns his "work shirt...like Papa's."

Olivia wasn't so sure at first.  I was so disappointed b/c apparently the water fountain in the mall overflowed and there was water everywhere. They told us no Easter bunny until they cleaned it up.

Well, after rushing all morning to get the kids at the mall at 10am, breakfast, giving the kids a bath, dressing them up, AND getting Luca so excited about the Easter bunny, I asked if they could at least see the bunny and that there were going to be 14+ kids disappointed that there is no Easter bunny.  So that's why the Easter bunny is sitting in the corner outside of the mall. 

But of course as soon as I get my kids changed out of their pretty clothes, the floor and equipment was all dry and the Easter Bunny was back in business. I was happy that Olivia actually sat on the bunnies lap and Luca was so happy to see the bunny.  I really enjoy doing these types of events because they get so happy and excited, I love it.  He asked the bunny for Marshmallows for Easter.  I love that he doesn't ever ask for much.

1st Phone Call To Luca's Girlfriend

Luca has Nonno's old cell phone that he uses to play with.  As we were eating dinner, Luca picked up his phone and said....

"Hi Kayla"  Long Pause ... "I'm good, just eating chicken.  I miss you.  I didn't see you at Cosi.  Ok talk to you later, I love you." And then he gave the phone a big kiss.  OMG we were all cracking up b/c it came out of no where.  Nobody brought up Kayla, Luca must have been thinking about her and it was the cutest thing, EVER!  By the way, Kayla is the 13 year old volunteer that Luca met about a month ago at Cosi.

Here's another funny thing that Luca did.  We were at a Birthday Party at Chuck E Cheese yesterday and my friend, Cara, is pregnant.  Her son Lane and Luca are in the same playgroup and Lane was at the party yesterday.  Lane told Luca "My mommy has a baby in her belly."  And Luca said "There's no baby in her belly!  She just has a big belly!"  Then they were both arguing back and forth and Cara was cracking up laughing.  It was the funniest thing.  But he was determined to let Lane know that he didn't believe there was a baby in Cara's belly.  I tried to explain to him that he was in my belly once but he looked at me like I was crazy.  I am really enjoying this age, a lot.  There are things that he says all day that make me laugh and I need to start writing them down more often so I don't forget these wonderful memories.

Hide N' Seek

Recently, we've been playing Hide N' Go Seek with the kids. At first, they were horrible at it. They would hide and as we would walk in the room I would say "I wonder where Luca is?" And he would say "I'm here!" And he would run out of his hiding spot. But lately, they've been getting really good at it.


Olivia is constantly hiding now. Every time we need to get out the door she is hiding somewhere. Even when I take her out of the car she will cover her face like she's hiding. She loves Hide N' Go Seek. Even though it's fun to play as a family it's not so fun for me anymore b/c I have to look for them all the time b/c they think we are playing hide n go seek all day long!

I'm so excited my parents are coming in town soon!  This month is going to be a lot of fun.  Gabri is turning one and Mary & Chris are going to throw her an amazing Bday party.  My parents 40th Anniversary is on Easter Sunday so we are taking them out to a really fancy dinner plus we are doing our family photo, too!  It will be nice to spend some time with my family.  I can't wait!

LOVE

The kids looked so cute today that I got my camera out and took some shots of them.

Mary, Leo  and I recently booked a photo session with a photographer in Toledo the weekend of Easter. We are hoping the entire fam pic will turn out nicely and frame it for a Mother's Day/Father's Day gift for my parents.  I can't wait b/c this photographer does some great work. But this is what happens when I tell Luca to smile.

And this is what happens when I tell Olivia to smile.  I sure hope they aren't this cheesy and can learn that they can smile and open their eyes at the same time at the photo session!

Luca give your sister a kiss! 

Olivia give your brother a kiss!  I guess they follow directions well, right?

Luca was wiped out from my little 2 minute mini session with them, let's hope he'll manage an hour and a half session with 2 other families! Can you tell I'm a little nervous?

So here's a cute story to share. I went to the grocery store tonight and Corey put the kids to bed. He said that Luca was putting away the dominoes and Olivia was upstairs and he noticed how she was quiet so he got nervous that she was getting into something because that's what happens when they are quiet. She took her bean bag in her room and put it next to her crib and crawled into her crib and laid down with her paci in her mouth. Corey asked her if she was tired and she said "I go ni ni." She put herself to bed! How cute.