"Lia is 1"...says the Easter Bunny

Happy Birthday, Lia! My sweet girl turned 1 on the 3rd of April...the day before Easter.

At her year appointment she weighed in at 21lbs 2oz and 28.75 inches tall. As always, Lia is a happy baby. She quit nursing around St. Patrick's Day... Yep, just up and quit. So no weaning for her...it was I who needed some time to adjust. It was good because that was shortly after the teeth started coming in. ;) Lia has 2 on the bottom, so far. She's still eating her homemade purees and drinking soy milk and formula. (Yes, she's still allergic to milk.) So far her vocabulary consists of "Mama," "Hi," "Bye,' "Uh-Oh," "Dog", "Duck" and the occassional, "Dada.' She can sign "Milk" and "Eat." I've even heard Milk come out her mouth once, too. lol And according to Mary Ann and Gene (the baby-sitters) she has said, "Mary Ann," "Bella" and "Alexander." Lia is really fascinated with reflections and images of herself... If you walk by a mirror, (or a picture of herself) she'll say, "Hiiiiiiii!" As far as motor skills...she's really good at putting things into other things and taking them out. She even put the lid on her milk bottle the other day. Mary Ann just taught the girls how to blow kisses as well. (It's really cute.) She's been crawling since 9 months and pulling herself to standing since a little after 10 months. Lia is nearly walking and can stand on her own effortlessly...she even can sway her hips while standing when music is playing! Right now, she's crusing on everything and broke her 3-step max record the other day...taking 4 steps on her own.

We had a small party for her on Saturday and Alexander helped me make her Bunny Cake and Color Eggs the night before. We even did a mini Easter-Egg Hunt...it was a blast!:














And we can't forget my sweet Alexander... :D
Alexander hit is 2.5 year mark on March 18th. He's become such a BIG BOY. At his appointment he was 28 lbs and 33 inches tall. (Yes, Lia will be catching him in no time... lol) Alexander's vocabulary continues to grow each day and he forms more and more sentences. Just the other day he asked me what I was doing...in a whole phrase, "What are you doing, Mommy?" It's crazy to think that 18 months ago he was like Lia. :) His "Aww Man," "Awwwww" and "Oh, OKkkkkk..." responses when he's just settling for your terms are comical. He continues to be a good big brother. He can help me feed Lia with very little mess and is really quite helpful. However, the fights have begun! The two of them can be seen pulling on toys and I've even seen them hit each other. I didn't think it would be so soon... Really need to start potty training...but he's still not quite ready. (Diapers still pretty wet over night, etc.) We'll see... Alexander has been becoming more independent too. He has mastered putting in DVDs, feeding himself and tries more and more each day to dress himself...putting on shoes, jackets, etc.

We spent a wonderful time in Lisbon for Easter and were able to get this cool "family picture". :)




I am truly in love with my family!

"NO PANE! NO PANE!"

This is the story of the worst traveling experience ever! Through this we have decided that we will NEVER fly with our children under any circumstances...

We were slated to travel to Mississippi for my dear friend, Annette's wedding. We opted to fly instead of drive as we didn't believe our 11 month-old and 2 1/2 year old would fend well in the car (or even us for that matter...) What a bad decision that turned out to be...

The first trip, we (Leonard) forgot the garmet bag with my bridesmaid's dress and Alexander's tuxedo in it. So we missed our flight and couldn't get out again 'til the next day... We were charged about $250/seat to change our flight from Friday and Saturday. Worst part was, Alexander didn't have a seat anyway! It was overbooked and had Leonard magically found the garmet bag when he went back to the car, he would've had to sit on one of our laps ANYWAY!!! >:| This caused us to miss the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. :( The next flight went as expected, and the children actually did very well in the airport and on the plane. However, aiport transistions were hindered by the fact that we were basically carrying both children with our carry-ons as we opted to not take our stroller. (another fatal mistake.) Once we arrived in Jackson and got our rental and headed to our hotel in Forest, MS. (Now the wedding was actually in the small town of Louin, about 45 minutes from Forest...and Forest was about an hour from Jackson.) We had to drive to the church straight from the airport in order to make it in time for the wedding. And guess what? We got lost getting there (tried putting the address into 3 different GPS systems and they all took us to the same WRONG address.) We eventually got there, because my brother (who was singing in the wedding) found someone to get us...only to find out that we were 3 minutes away. :( ((takes breath))

Alexander, who was the ring bearer, and I quickly were brought up to speed on our roles and everyone got dressed quickly. The wedding went on...without a hitch.

On the way back, when we got to the airport at 5am and we were told that we had unconfirmed seats onto our connecting flight to Columbus and there were no other flights available on any airlines to get us home on Sunday. Seriously? Apparently, (which I find out much later,) when we missed our flight and had to change from the Friday to the Saturday,it cancelled our reservations?! The only way home THAT DAY was to fly into Dayton, arriving 12 hours later. Luckily, my brother was in the airport with us at 5am and was able to get on his flight back home....so we decided to give him the keys to our truck and some cash to get it out of long term parking...and come to Dayton to pick us up...at 6pm. He made it to Columbus by 11am. We missed our flight into Dallas, so we spent 2 hours in the Jackson airport that morning and then another 6 in Dallas once we arrived. I had little food and milk for Lia as I packed it all in the check-in luggage and it was struggle to get through the day. We were blessed to find a "play area" in the Dallas airport that we hung out in most of our layover. By the time we boarded the last flight all you could hear from Alexander was, "No Pane, No Pane..." We laughed, but totally felt his pain...

We flew into Dayton at 6:30pm and by the time we drove back to Colmubus and dropped off my brother, we walked into our house 9pm.

Airlines are horrible. Overbooking flights, left and right and charging people an arm and leg to reschedule and unable to offer you anything in way of compensation for your hardship. I tried...called all the airlines involved and Orbitz and everyone was blaming everyone else. I just gave up...

Offically boycotting air transporation unless it's for business and someone else is paying.

Here are a few shots from the airport adventure...

Winter 2010...Where has the time gone?

It's Winter 2010. Seriously, where has the time gone? I feel like I just had Lia and she will be a year old before we know it.

Here's a brief update on Lia's 9 month stats:

19lbs 2oz and 27" tall

In addition to pulling up to standing and crawling, Lia has learned how to wave, (a skill I'm certain she picked up from her cousin Bella :)) and give kisses. She's still working on saying Da Da, (it slips every now and then, but never intentional,) but still continues to say Ma Ma. I'm still making Lia's baby food and she's now eating pretty much everything and is really good at letting you know what she doesn't like. Have yet to do eggs... Will try in a few months.

Our little girl is already out-doing her big-brother. (Must be a girl thing...) To compare:

Alexander at 9 months:

17lbs 5oz, 26.5" long
Didn't pull himself up until nearly 12 months
Didn't crawl until 13 months...

And as you've seen in the previous post, my son is doing quite well with the "Your Baby Can Read" program. I think it's helping him with his vocabulary as well. If only we can wean him off that dang pacifier...

I'm so proud of my little munchkins!

Here's a recent pic of the kids with their Daddy. Couldn't get all 3 to look at me at once, but 2 out of 3 will do:




The weather has taken a turn for the worst. It's been quite snowy these days and the foreseeable future does not show any signs of letting up. And when I say "snowy" we're talking about 6-8 inches a couple of days ago. "Fun to look at/play in...not fun when you have to work..." It will be interesting to see how it turns out.

And sadly, Leonard's Grandfather passed away a couple of weeks ago. We attended his funeral on Sunday, January 24th. Dan wrote a beautiful "eulogy"...and I say it in quotes, because it was more so a narrative a his great life. It was so touching that it made me feel cheated that I didn't have a chance to meet him before his stroke. The blessing that was before us was that he was finally able to be with his beloved Jane (Leonard's Grandmother who passed in 2003.) R.I.P. Samuel Campanelli...

(Most Recent Professional Photo of Sam)
(Sam and Jane on their wedding day...)

Crawling, Standing, and Reading...Oh,My!

It's the New Year already! 2010. I can't believe it...

So here a couple of pictures and videos of the kiddies showcasing their milestones. Alexander has been doing the "Your Baby Can Read" series at the sitter's and Lia has just pulled herself to standing...shortly after figuring out how to crawl. They are growing up so fast...

Nearly Christmas...

So it's nearly Christmas and I missed posting about Halloween and Thanskgiving. Rather than type anything I'll let the photos speak for themselves... :D

My baby girl is 6 months-old...

At her 6 month well-check she weighed in at 17lbs 5 oz and 26" long. (Just to throw in a comparison...@ 12 months Alexander was 27" long.) She is pretty much in the 75% for both. Doing very well. Lia is growing up fast! She has the most cheerful personality and rarely lets things upset her...finding comfort in her thumb when things get "too much" for her. Alexander is really good at keeping her entertained so it seems as if she is laughing all of them time. Lia started eating cereal around 5 months and does really well with that. We just started her on other baby foods this week. Once we get past the "testing for allergies" stage, we will make her food as we did Alexander's...in the food processor. Speaking of allergies...we did discover that she is allergic to milk. But, it is a seriously mild allergy. We gave her some Enfamil (milk based forumla) mixed in with he cereal and her face broke out. Other than that, she had no other adverse reactions. So, we'll be staying away from that until she's about a year and try it again. Lia has rolled over once, (although nearly rolls over attempting to reach for things often) yet continues to end up in different directions in her crib at night. She is, however, sitting on her own. A feat she achieved just this past Sunday. Physically, she appears to be advancing faster than Alexander and soon will be crawling. (From a sitting position she reaches for things in front of her, ends up on her tummy and ultimately winds up kicking her feet to try to go...) I fear teeth are not far behind. And I even believe her first 2-syallable word will be coming soon...(trying to get the "Mama" thing in her head...) lol

Alexander is 2!

It's really hard to believe that it's been 2 years since we were blessed with our dear Alexander. Unfortunately, I wasn't around on his birthday (9/18) because I had rehearsal for the play I'm doing that opens up next weekend, Fuddy Meers, but I made a video message for him to watch when he got home. Needless to say, I will make sure that doesn't happen again. We are having a family (and very close friends) party for him next weekend.

Alexander has grown a lot in 2 years. At his 2-yr well-check he was weighing in at 25 1/4 lbs. and measuring to 32 3/4" tall. He has moved into the 25%! The pediatrician said he has a perfect BMI for a toddler... :D The boy is definitely growing. It's so cool to see the things he used to be able to walk under and can no longer. He climbs into the truck with ease now as well as onto our bed. Alexander can walk up and down stairs like a big boy... He actually came up without anyone behind him, as I looked on from the top, busy with Lia. (He got tired of waiting for his Dad, and even asked me if he could come up before he did on his own.) He has become a little man, that's for sure... And he's an excellent big brother! He loves Lia so much and is quite protective. Mary Ann, the sitter, says he will barely let anyone touch her...shielding her saying "MINE!" Speaking of "saying" his vocabulary is quite extensive, although we only get 2 to 3 word sentences...mostly all begining with, "No..." lol And I'm sad to report that I child is suffering from the "Terrible Twos." It's almost unbearable at times. BIG tantrums over the silliest, smallest things. Leonard and I have learned to just ignore him and then he gets himself together...distracted by something else. If it gets too bad he, of course, gets threatened (or "corrected") with the spoon. Despite the tantrums, he's a pretty good boy and listens and follows complex directions quite well for a boy his age. Alexander loves animals and knows his shapes (even the "more difficult" ones.) They work on the alaphabet and other sing-a-long songs at the sitter's. His latest infactuation is with dinosaurs and is currently obsessed with Land Before Time. He's going to be a "Sharp Tooth" for Halloween. ;)

Happy, Happy Birthday to my Sweet, Little Boy.

4 months and the Zoo...

Lia's 4 month stas:

15lbs 13oz (90%)
25" long (85%)
16.75" head circum

Lia has been working on her abs by doing mini "sit-ups" since she was about 2 months old... lol She will be sitting on her own here really soon and the doctor already cleared her to eat rice cereal...but also said she didn't need it yet. (So I'm going to wait another month...feeding solid food takes so much work! lol) We'll have a "Lia Eats Green Beans" video before we know it. ;) No teeth yet...but she's gearing up for it..much drooling...and we definitely have a thumb sucker.

Lia talks all of the time. She's actually started to kind of "growl" when she babbles...very good at playing with her voice. Lia just started to reach for things, unlike Alexander who was reaching for toys when he was 2 months old, but remains quite aware of everything around her.

Lia is a really happy baby and very content. She even has been sleeping through the night, in her crib, for about a month now. (Alexander didn't start sleeping in his crib until 12 months...and then he just started sleeping through the night 4 months ago....................)

We took the kids to the zoo a couple of weeks ago. Alexander LOVED it. His favorite part was actually the aquarium. Other than that, the elephant is his favorite animal. We will return again soon, when it's not so hot. Nina, from the PBS Sprout "Good Night Show" was there, too. So we got to listen to her and got a few pics too. It actually was a really good day!











Here is a video of Lia "talking" at the zoo.

3 months and July 4th

My baby girl just recently weighed in at 15lbs! I can't believe it. I remember thinking that 15lbs was A LOT for a 3 month-old to weigh. And lo and behold... LOL

Lia is 15lbs 2oz (95%), 24" long (75%) and has a 16" head circumference.

Lia is a really big girl...Pretty much trying to sit up by herself every day. Extremely happy baby...always smiling and nearly laughing. And she sleeps through the night!

We couldn't be more blessed!

My niece and nephew are in town for the summer (my sister is soon to follow) so we took them to our buddies' house for a bonfire the night before July 4th. As always, it was a great time spent with friends. It was actually the first bonfire Marcel and Tatyanna had been to...and they had a blast making hotdogs, etc.