5 month's old

5 months and counting. She gets more fun by the day! She is still an angel baby. Lately we have been going lots of places and in the process of moving so baby has been all over Illinois! She is a champ. She rarely cries, she accomodates well. She really is a perfect sweet little loveable baby. She gets more smiley and lovey everyday. She pretty much still loves everybody. She smiles and puts on a good show for everybody. Most of the time she shows off by babbling away. I mean this girl doesnt just have one or two sounds. She has a variety of sounds and loves the sound of her own voice. She talks and talks and talks it really is entertaining. She is also very loud about it which kinda goes with the Italians in my family. Loud and proud! She is also starting to immitate things, such as, fake coughing and then laughing, high shrieking, sticking out her tounge. She loves her feet, she recently found them and is obsessed with grabbing them and watching them. She still loves her thumb. She still isnt the best sleeper in the world, she seems to need to see someone or at least know they are there in order to sleep well. A couple times a night she wakes up to either nurse or just to cuddle. Besides starting rice cereal i gave her a little banana and she wasnt so sure the first couple of bites but then decided it wasnt too bad and was getting frustrated when I couldnt get the spoon into her mouth fast enough. She also has started to get frustrated when she cant grab things fast enough or isnt in the position she wants to be in. She hates lying down and will do whatever she can to try to sit herself up. She can sit up for 30-60 seconds at a time. She still sleeps all curled up on her side. Loving my bundle of joy so much and looking forwrd to my new job and extra time with her!

Baby's First Christmas!

It was an AWESOME Christmas. Tyler and I had decided that with a new house that we did not need to do any christmas presents this year and it was still the best christmas that we have shared together. Francesca is the best present that we could have ever asked for. She completes us in ever aspect of life. She fills our hearts with joy and she reminds us what Christmas is all about. Christmas is about being with the people you love and sharing that moment with lots of snuggles, hugs and kisses. Its about sharing laughter and stories about life and what's to come. We did all of that. We spent Christmas Eve together as a family all day. We snuggled in our apt in comfy clothes and just took in lots of Baby love. We then met my family for dinner. I did not get to stay at dinner long because a sweet baby girl that was born the same day as Francesca got a heart transplant. So I spent a few hours of Christmas helping them share the joy and happiness that there family was celebrating. It was a blessing to be able to celebrate another life and another year for such a sweet little baby. I was glad to be apart of the Christmas Blessing of this family. Just another Christmas Miracle.

Christmas Eve night we eventually drove to the suburbs were my family waited for us with christmasy pajamas and christmas cookies. We had a sleepover. Elle and I didnt get much sleep we were up chatting.  It was such a special night with my family. It was the beggining of many Christmas traditions to come. We woke up and it was time for Christmas present. Francesca was first since she obviously had the most presents under the tree. I dont think I need to explain that this girl is one loved and spoiled baby. The picture of her is all of her presents just from my parents, sister and grandma. We single handed bought out fisher price and she is set until she is 3! She was like a little queen. She sat in the pottery barn chair that Tyler and I bought her and took all of the Christmas in. I cant say it enough, she is such a good baby. I cant wait until she is ready to play with all her new toys. It is a good thing we have a house because we need the space for all her new toys!!

The rest of my family came over and there were more presents and lots more laughs. We played Family Feud and Just Dance on the Wii. Franki was entertained by it all. It really was the best Christmas ever. My family is so generous with there love, gifts and presence. Franki is one lucky little girl to be surrounded by the people who love her the most. We continue to be blessed everyday. I cant wait to continue all of our Christmas traditions in the years to come.

MMMMMMmmmm Gooooood!

We had a wonderful weekend filled with great friends, family and food. It was exactly what the Holiday season ordered. It was great to get out and away from work and enjoy the company of people who mean so much to us during the holiday season! Francesca is absolutely loving all the attention she is getting. She also likes to show off what a good baby she is. I mean we took her all over town this weekend and she was as content as can be. She is either smiling or just looking around taking in the chaos that Holidays create. Chaos is a good way of course; christmas trees, lights, people chatting and laughing, decorations, and all of the holiday bliss.

Just this past Friday I decided it was time for little Francesca to eat rice cereal. I was going to wait until 6 months but who I am kidding she was letting us know she was ready. She began to continue to be hungry even after 7-8 oz of formula and still spitting most of it up because it was  just to much liquid. She really caught on immediately. She was trying to help by grabbing the spoon like she just couldnt get it fast enough. She absolutely loves it, and boy is is fun to see happy she is to eat. It is the messiest, stickest thing but its worth it because she enjoys her nighttime bath just as much as she does eating. The really funny part about the rice cereal is that Hulk loves it too. Yes on friday I made the rice cereal set it on the floor near the bumbo where I was going to feed her. I left room to grab her bib and I come back and the entire bowl is gone, seriously gone to the last drop. Hulk ate it and loved it. MMM Breast milk and rice cereal it resembles cement. He then proceeded to beg the entire time I fed her the new bowl that I had just made. He then likes to help her get it off her face by licking it right off. I think rice cereal may just be the beggining of Hulk and Franki's friendship!

Enjoy some new pics of her sweet chunky cheeks with a mess full of cereal!

Christmas Photos

Christmas Photo Shoot ( I saved my favorites for the Christmas Card so you will have to patiently wait for the card to arrive to view those).

I swear this baby does two things all day long, smile and either put her hands, toy or whatever else she can get in her mouth. Yet it is the hardest thing to get her smiling on camera. Its like you take the camera out and she is so focused on what the heck are you pointing that at me for face that she wont smile. I dont have one of those fancy cameras so the delay is just long enough to miss that silly little toothless grin! However, Her sweet face makes for some really great pictures. I have spent extra time at home this week just loving my girl lots. Now hopefully Elle can get better soon so that Franki can play with her Auntie again. But I cherish every moment I get with my little love bug and it was nice to have lots of time to play with her this week. She is really starting to laugh and that is my favorite thing in the world. Baby laughs are the best endorphin ever.

4 month stats and a night on the town!

4 Month stats: Head Circumference: 15 3/4 inches (still a peanut head-but were up to the 20%tile!), weight 12 pounds 7 ounces (25th %), Length 24 inches (35%).
The doctor was really impressed by how strong she is: i.e almost sitting up all by herself with just a little lower back support she sits with her head up and looks all around without even the slightest shakiness. She also talks a lot for her age, or so the doctor says. She was a noisy little bug while we were at the doctor's office. She loves showing off with all of her various noises, the funny part is that she usually only makes these noises while her hands are shoved in her mouth and she is drooling all over the place. She now needs a bib with just about every outfit she has! Everything is going just how it should and we couldnt be happier that she is doing so well! She finally has the beggining of baby chub! She has this sweet little chub line at her wrists and I love it! I just want to eat her up, it is so cute. I mean who doesnt love baby chub, seriously?!

Tyler and I went to my college friend Katie and Paco's wedding this weekend. It was really our first real night out since Francesca was born. I went all out, hey its been awhile! I got my hair done and got all dolled up for the occasion. It felt really great to get out. We kinda felt like wedding crashers because we didnt know very many people at the wedding, but we enjoyed a night out to talk to each other, laugh with one another and just enjoy some adult company. Plus my Mom, Franki's Mo-ma got to spend lots of bonding time together (which they both enjoyed). It was an overall great night and I did surprisingly well. I had my first drink in a year! (crazy I know?) But when your pregnant and breast feeding its hard to squeeze in a drink, so I treated myself to one drink woohoo! Great weekend spent with great people! I cant wait until we move so we can conveniently go to my parents at any momemtns notice. Tyler and I are looking forward to our life as suburbanites!

4 months old!

The last 4 months have flown by. I cant even remember those sleepless nights anymore, they really went by so so fast. She continues to absorb everything around her life a little sponge. A few posts back she really had just started to like the sound of her own voice, now she loves the sound. She spends several hours a day making various noises and she is very loud when doing so. Her talking usually accompanies her hands in her mouth, its like she is saying man these hands taste delicious! She contiunes to be a happy happy baby. We can pretty much take her anywhere becuase she is our little angel. She loves action. On thanksgiving we took out her high chair and let her sit at the table with us. She was so content just watching everyone eat and listen to all the conversations. She continues to love her playmat and jumperoo. She self entertains in her jumperroo for at least an hour. She really is insterested in looking at just about evertyhing. She takes it all in. She is much more interested in books than she was before, because of all the colors. She really likes when people sing to her, she thinks it is just too funny, its probably because no one in our family has the greatest voice and it is actually pretty comical that we try to sound good while we sing to her. She laughs but it is still this quiet little laugh and she literally gets the hiccups everytime she laughs. She is getting stronger and stronger. She is not yet rolling, but is so close. She gets both legs going when she is on her belly she just has realized how strong she is yet. When she is on her back she rolls to her side and even kicks her legs all the way over but as soon as you think she is going to roll she rolls right back onto her back. She is just so much fun! I look forward to each month just to see what new things she can do!

On another note: Tyler and I just bought our first home. We will be moving to Winfield, IL and into our new townhome in mid january. We are going to paint and get the place all ready before moving. They are brand new and in the perfect place. The neighborhood is surrounded by forest preserves with tons of paths! We cant wait to ride our bikes and take long walks to explore our new neighborhood! The place is beautiful (pictures later this month). It is 2 bedrooms with a loft, 2.5 baths, 2 car garage and a english basement (a.k.a franki's toy room)! We are excited about another journey in our life. We have been blessed over and over again in the last few years with big changes. We are looking forwad to sitting tight and settling into our new home that we plan to be in for quite awhile! We are feeling very lucky to have gotten one of the last townhomes! We are also exctied that Ellen can start her daycare in our home! It is a great start for her and also a great way for Franki to be around other kids! We are looking forward to decorating our new place. I think I am most excited about getting Francesca's room ready for her to grow-up in! (we want to pick a timeless design). We had a wwonderful holiday because of all the things we are grateful for.  Her is our little gal rocking out her 4 month self!

Thanksgiving

I am so thankful for my family this year on Thanksgiving. Holidays are so special with a beautiful baby around. It makes the meaning of family that much more special. We will be headed to my Aunt's in just a few hours, but for now I sit her watching my sweet baby sleep and think of all the things that I am thankful for this year. At the top of the list: Francesca (obviously), all of my family, old and new friends, rekindled friendships, health, happiness, our new home!, the beautiful weather we have had, and so much more, too long to list here. This year I have been given a new perspective on life. My eyes have beeen opened to all of the beauty that surrounds me and I am thankful for this new perspective that has been provided. I am happy, scratch that i am elated with the life I have been given and for that I am thankful. I cant wait to take in our first thanksgiving with our new babe! The smell of turkey in the oven, football on television, the sounds of cheerful conversations, baby laughing all of the surrounded with the people you love the most. Doesnt get much better than this, Love! God Bless all and Bring on the Christmas season!

Drama Queen

My super sweet baby girl continues to have a blossoming personality! She is a bit of a drama queen and it is hillarious. She has never really been a baby that cries. She still really doesnt cry much, but at even the slightest thing that she doesnt like, she doesnt just cry she throws an all out freak out session until you pick her up. I mean this is as simple as I have to go to the bathroom so I set her down on her mat and she doesnt want to be put down because just a minute ago we were playing and laughing. Well the second  set her down its she screams and kicks her legs, arches her back and throws an all out fit. (Can tantrums really start at 3 1/2 months). She is a girl and she definitely gets some of her Drama Queen from her Momma and Aunt Elle. She just wants everyone to know she has a strong personality in there (hmm I wonder where that comes from). We actually have to laugh at here when she does this becasue ou really would think we neglected her or something when she decides it is time to cry. The best part is you pick her up and she has a huge smile across her face, like HA HA gotcha, suckers!
We are all suckers too. I mean just can help it she is so cute.

She got to hang out with her Daddy all by herself on Sunday night for the first time alone at night. They had fun cuddling and playing for about an hour before she decided to have one of her freak out sessions, which eventually turned into an exhausted little baby that Daddy got succesfully asleep in her crib by the time I got home from my meeting. I think Tyler loved his time with his little girl though even though she was crying a little bit. It was nice to see how well they did without Momma around. Maybe ill be leaving them a little more often now! It's not that I dont trust Tyler (clearly I do he is my husband). I am just so attached (obsessed) with my little girl that I like spending as much time as I can with Francesca and Tyler. I used to hate leaving Hulk alone without me, so imagine when it is a baby. I am just a huge mamma bear and asolutely love everything about being a momma and a wife. Both are at the top of my list of favorite things in the world. I continually strive to be the best I can as a mom, wife and a friend and part of that is spending as much time as possible loving up on Francesca and Tyler!

Tyler and I did get out this weekend. My mom and Aunt came to watch Franki so we could go to the Iowa vs. Northwestern game. We went out for a nice breakfast in Evanston and then enjoyed a rainy football game. It was fun to spend time with my hubby doing one of his favorite pasttimes! It is our anniversary tradition to go to Iowa games which make is that much more special. Unfortunately Iowa lost, but either way we had a wonderful time together!

The last three and a half months have been trully amazing. No words can describe the happiness that I feel in my heart. Having a baby really has changed my life in so many amazing ways that I could have never seen coming. I continue to feel blessed everyday for my life. Loving my little Drama Queen!

Enjoy Francesca's talking!

Happy Girl!!

Franki is such a happy little girl! This week she all of a sudden began laughing and making lots of noises! She gets the hiccups when she laughs because she sucks air in while she laughs! It really is too cute. She also has really started to enjoy the sound of her own voice. She is making lots of screaching noises. We had her in the bath and and we know that she loves the bath but with all her happy noises tonight we knew she was really loving it. She also continued to kick her legs like a little frog. It is really so fun to see how much she changes from week to week! Elle is doing a great job taking care of her, they have so much fun during the day. Everyday I come home she is dressed in her cute little outfits with a pretty little bow! It's her staple. She is going to be known for her pretty little bows and I love it! I was so not the girly girl, so its kinda fun to make her girly (at least while I can!). Im sure she will eventually hate dresses like her mother! I dont think she will be quite the tom-boy like her momma was, but we will see! Her personality continues to bloom! She is drooling like crazy, so we are anticipating teeth poking through anyday now, we shall see i might be posing on a crabby baby soon :) She is taking the bottle during the day really well and she gets to nurse when I get home, overnight and in the early morning. Nursing her seems even more special now that I am back to work, im happy I have that special time with her while I am at home. Oh man I love this baby so much. Work and pumping and all that good stuff is going as good as it can. Did I mention how excited we are for the holidays! Halloween is officially over and we can start getting ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas! Is is too soon to start singing christmas carols to Francesca at night?! I just bought her a stocking and the chirstmas decorations will be making an appearance in just about 20 days. I cant wait to have the holidays with my new little family! Time to enjoy this cold weather today and snuggle with my two favorite people!

Happy Halloween!

We had a great weekend in the suburbs! Loving our little girl as she continues to grow and beome so alert and aware of so many things! As you can see she doesnt just like but loves her thumb!!

Return to work and nearing 3 months old!

This momma headed back to work on monday. Luckily today (tuesday) was my day off, so it was a nice way to ease my way back in. Thank goodness for Ellen. I was so happy that she came the night before so i could get her all prepared (not that she needed it) but I think she knew it would make me happy to come early. I did pretty good. Monday started for me at 3:00 am. Francesca woke up to eat, although i tried to go to bed the anxiety of going back to work kept me from getting any more sleep. I got back to work and as usual the atmosphere was crazy and everyone was busy busy busy. Yet somehow when i asked what they wanted me to do it didnt seem like there was anything for me to do, but review charts, ugh, yuck. I wanted to see patients and of course most of the day I was stuck in the office. By the afternoon I had already talked to Elle a few times and just as I thought she was doing a great job and was sending me lots of photos of Franki smiling away. I missed my Franki a lot though. It might have been easier if I enjoyed my job more. Hopefully soon I will have a job I like more. Maybe tomorrow i will get to see a few more patients! It was nice to catch up with some of my friends in the PICU. I did spend a bit more time in the PICU than I normally would because of course I forgot one piece that I needed in order to pump. It is a good thing that I work in a hospital where they have all the supplies I need! Otherwise I was going to head home because I cant go the whole day without pumping. Overall it was a very uneventful day. I definitely have mommy brain adn forgot how to do some things ( I have only worked in this job for four months before leaving on maternity leave) and well lets face it when your pregnant your memory is just not as sharp as it normally is. I am sure the next few days I will get back into the swing of things. I definitely just think about getting my work done while I am there so I can get home to my girl. Let me tell you I enoy my time with Franki even more not that I am back to work than I did when I was home. I will be utilizing all of my time off to get as much loving and fun with my franki, daddy , and Hulk! Wish me luck the rest of the week!

Francesca is almost 3 months old! I cant believe it! She is growing and changing everyday. There was a reason that she did not take the pacifier in the begining and that is becuase she is a thumb sucker. She recently found her thumb and she loves it! It was about three weeks ago that she really started to figure out how to get her hands to her mouth and it was only a matter of time before she figured out how to suck on her hand and then shortly after found her thumb. She is now a great self soother which has increased her amount of sleep overnight! I put her in the crib starting last week and since then she has done great. She loves to have the crib to move around in. She only gets up once during the night to eat and it is usually between 3 and 5. She is sleeping about 7 to eight hours. We usually get her to sleep around 7:30 but she likes to cuddle til about 9. I have tried several times to put her down into the crib at 7:30 after reading to her and feeding her. She will be passed out and the second I lie her down she is awake and crying. I pick her up and she snuggles on my chest until about 9 and from there she sleeps soundly in her crib until its time to eat again. She is still such a sweetie. She is always smiling and has started to laugh. Her laugh sounds like she is inhaling a lot of air, it is very cute. She thinks that it is really funny when we eat. As tyler and I eat she has a huge grin on her face. She must be thinking about eating. She is starting to grab things in front of her and is much more aware of everything going on around her. With everything that she likes to do her attention span lasts about 20 minutes. She has really started to look at the television. So we will put a children's show on the laptop and let her look at it. She really enjoys shows with songs. The first show we watched was the princess and the frog, it's got great music and she loves listening to it. Her face has a smile the entire time she is watching and listening to it. She also has finally started to notice Hulk. She will follow him with her eyes and watch where he is going. She absolutely loves the changing table. It must be the view that she gets of our faces. She can be crying and immediatly stops when you put her on the changing table. She absolutely hates tummy time. She usually cries the whole time, but has really started to lift her head and shoulders up, its almost like the more she cries the better she does becuase she lifts her head to search for whoever put her on her stomach! She is one smart little cookie. The other day in her sleep she rolled from her back to her stomach. We have yet to seee her roll over while she is awake but everyday she gets closer to doing this, its only a matter of time now especially with her kicking those legs and wiggling those arms aroound! She is really doing so wonderful. I cant wait to see all the things she will learn this next month. Her is a view into our happy happy babies life!

A New Vision

This weekend is a weekend dedicated to raising self esteem in young girls. This is an amazing campaign and Francesca only be close to 3 months old, but raising and promoting self confidence in today's society is going to be crutial. I want to raise Francesca to be true to herself and to embrace herself as who she is! Great Campaign! Please share with family, friends, children and women everywhere!

Baby Dedication

We couldnt have asked for a better day. The sun was shining, the trees in the back yard were a variety of beautiful fall colors and the air was a perfect fall crisp with the sun shining brightly on family and friends. It was the perfect Sunday to pray  for Francesca and to unite/dedicate our little girl to God and to the church. Our family and friends gathered for the perfect little sunday afternoon. I wish I had a picture looking from the inside out that captured this day. We were blessed to have the same pastor that married Tyler and I come to my parents home. Although we do not attend his church do to the distance from our home, he seems to just understand where we are in our lives both religiously and spiritually. He successfully made another moment in our life very special and personalized. Tyler and I feel very honored to have had him be apart of Francesca's special day. He preached a little about the difference between baptism and baby dedication and choose a few stories from the bible that outline this. The purpose of a baby dedication and why we chose this over baptism is because we want our children to be able to develop a personal relationship with God and with the right guidance choose to follow the God that they feel comfortable following. Baby dedication is the starting place for developing this relationship. Eric stressed that a baby dedication is just as much about Francesca as it is about everyone who chose to be gathered  with us on this day. Each person in her life will be commiting to helping her be all that God wants her to be. There was a few points that Eric had in this cerememony that hit home for me and I wanted to share them with you all. The first thing he said that we could do to help Francesca to be all that she will be is to Love one another. We must be an example to her and show her what real love is. Tyler and I must be as one and help her to feel the security that we feel when we are together. I have always felt that this is very important in a child's life. Love can be shown and heard through so many differnt forms of communication, words, gestures, feelings, emotions, etc. I think that both Tyler and I have the love for eachother that this commitment takes. Eric's words were a great reminder to both Tyler and I to remember how conneted we are. Ty and I have not had much time together since Francesca was born, and Sunday was a gentle reminder to spend more time on us as well as our little girl. The second thing that was pointed out was to teach our children well. Teach them to follow the rules, to listen to god, be there example, help them by involving there lives in the church, help them be around people that you know will teach them valuable things and also help them find and follow God. And last but not least to spend time with our children. He stressed that teaching children takes time. This part really got me thinking: Time is of so much value, I firmly believe that we must spend our time surrounded by the people that we love, those people who make us laugh and bring joy in to our lives. Surround yourself with great people the ones who trully make everyday enjoyable and worth living. Too many times, time is cut short, so we need to make the most of the time we have an spend it with those that are willing to live everyday. You dont need money to be rich in life, it does not buy happiness, it does not make good parents, it does not shape your future. What you do need and what I have been working on lately is living a rich life, which for me is filled with my small family and my few really good friends and there families. Love one another and your life to will be rich. We are so happy to have all these good people in our lives. Aunt Ellen and Uncle Arch were chosen as Francescas Godparents. They were chosen because we have love and trust in them that they will help us raise her, encouage her throughout life, be a good example for her to follow as she goes through this thing called life. We trust that they will put themselves in her life and make her better. I am so thankful for having them both in Francescas life now and into the future. Eric made sure to recongnize our Angel Great Grandma Rossi who passed just a little over a week before Francesca was born. One of my favorite Proverbs says: Grandchildren are the crown of the aged. We can only hope that Francesca will bring as much joy into the lives of others and My grandma Rossi did. I cant stress enough what a beautiful weekend it was. I am thankful for everyone who was there. Tyler and I have decided that even though the church in lake zurich is far from where we live that we want to be able to learn from Eric and the people at his church. We want to become more involved so that we can teach Francesca the right things. We are going to make and effort to become more involved in his community and in our own faith as we realize how improtant it is in todays society.

Here are the pictures from my camera! ENJOY

                                                    MoMa and Franki

                                                        Aunt Kathy and Franki

                                                                Proud Daddy

                                                          The GODFATHER :)

                                                             Papa, Arch, Ty ,and Kurk

                                                           The GODMOTHER :)