Garyn Matthew is 4!!!

Where does the time go? Just a fast four years ago I was unexpectedly welcoming my baby boy into this world 6 1/2 weeks early! From the moment Garyn entered this world he began proving to us that he was a strong little man....strong in all ways.

I would describe Garyn as a physically tough, head strong, unconditionally loving, gentle, funny with the most contagious belly laugh, smart and witty....WOW, what a special little boy!

This year as we celebrated Garyn we were reminded how lucky we are to have him and all of his lovable traits (including his stubborn and hard headedness.) We very easily could have been celebrating his birthday in a much different way. But once again, Garyn's strength pulled him through a very tough year. As everyone knows, Garyn suffered from Kawasaki's Disease in May and it truly took a toll on his body. But now after several months....Garyn is STRONG again!!!

We truly learned the power of prayer during those several weeks and also learned how important it is to cherish every moment....even the difficult ones. Life travels by in the glance of an eye...I have learned (slowly) to take the good with the bad, BUT never to dwell too long on the negative. We are too blessed to be bogged down with the bad...

Garyn is in his second year of preschool and is having a super successful year. His teachers, Mrs. Griffin and Mrs. Begala are wonderful and have mentioned to me on several occasions how much they love Garyn. They also express how impressed they are with his manners and good behavior!!! I am so proud of Garyn!!!

Garyn loves CARS CARS and CARS. He has learned to appreciate "e bay" for all of the Disney Pixar cars they have to offer....and as a result, has learned to navigate the computer very well.

Garyn's imagination is so bright and vivid...listening to him play can consume my entire afternoon. I especially like when he is playing "museum" with his dinosaurs. He is very thorough in describing the dinosaurs, what they eat, where they live, how they interact with each other, it's so fun!!! It repeatedly teaches me that my son is a sponge....everything he hears or learns comes directly back to the play floor.....sometimes even bigger and better than when it was originally taught.

It is hard to believe my baby is 4, but I know one thing for sure....no matter his shoe size, no matter his height...he will ALWAYS be my baby boy!!!!! I love you Garyn Matthew. You brighten my every day with your genuine love!!!!!! MUAH!

My little GiGi

Every morning I wake up and listen for my little peanut to call for me, "Mama," she will softly yell,....and just like that... the best part of my day begins, my children waking! Gianna is typically the first to rise, but lately there are days she is still fast asleep while Garyn gets comfortable watching his morning cartoon. She has learned over the past 6 months to be a great sleeper. Unlike her brother, it took her a long time, 15 months, to learn to sleep through the night. And a few more months to learn to sleep past 7am. But, I am excited to say, Gigi has found a new love for sleeping. She loves her 2 to 3 hour afternoon nap and she is sleeping until 8:30 or 9am. It's wonderful....and I wish I could say it has made her a "happier" child, like the books say sleep does for a child.....but the funny thing is, GiGi is ALWAYS and has always been a happy go- lucky girl. She is full of giggles, loves to hug, and is now telling us she loves us.

GiGi is fully potty trained....can you believe it! I am so proud of her. She has been in "big girl" undies for 3 months. How time flies.... I say it all the time, but she is no longer a baby....

Gianna loves to "help" around the house. She loves to help throw things away, put things back on the shelves in the pantry, put laundry in the washer and dryer....she is definitely the motherly type. She sleeps with a baby doll and is usually carrying one around the house continuously. She loves to change them, push them in a stroller, and feed them.

As for eating herself, Gianna eats EVERYTHING!!! She is my little trash compactor, yet only weighs in at 21lbs. She never ceases to amaze me at what she eats and how much. If I would let her.....she would eat all day. Her favorite thing to eat right now is noodles. She loves buttered noodles. She prefers them at every meal, but is satisfied with other things too. She likes cottage cheese and "blue chips" and she loves tacos!!!! The one things she still does not like is milk, therefore, she is still getting advanced formula, but as I introduce more dairy products to her, she is learning to get calcium from other foods and drinks....thank goodness.

Some of her funnies are when she tells us "on ore inute" otherwise know in english as "one more minute." She puts one finger up in the air and repeats it until we cave.... She loves to dance. Her favorite song is "night night" as she calls it, by the Black Eyed Peas. She dances around and uses a remote as her microphone.

Gianna is already a fashion diva...she loves clothes and shoes!!!! She loves to have her hair curled in the morning and loves lip gloss. She is very independent and loves to practice taking her clothes on and off. Her shoes and socks are ALWAYS the first to go...

Gianna is a very loving and very demanding younger sister. She is so sweet when she asks for Garyn (which is ALL of the time) and innocently wants to do and have everything he does or is playing with....which as you can imagine can be quite trying for Garyn. Sibling love is so fun to watch develop. They are slowly learning how to have fun with one another and at times, they are even learning that it's okay to share with each other.

I could not imagine my life without her...she is so precious. Her smile is contagious and love is addicting. Mommy loves you GiGi more than you will ever know....you are a very special blessing in my life. I can not wait to journey through your 2's with you!!!!!

The end of 2009....

As 2009 came to an end....we ended it with a blast. I love the holidays! It all began with Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh. This is probably my favorite holiday. There is nothing better than being home with my family. I especially LOVE being in the kitchen Thanksgiving morning with my mom. I love the smell of the kitchen, her constant reviewing of the time schedule, the taste testing of the stuffing, and most of all watching her, hoping that one day I will be able to do what she does in the kitchen!!!

This year Garyn was very interested in learning about Tom the turkey. He watch my mom take the goblet and neck out and use it for extra taste in the gravy, and OH BOY, no lie, he still talks about "GaGa cutting the neck off of the turkey." Unfortunately, we can not go a holiday without someone being sick, so this year it was Gianna. Poor little girl was so sick in Pittsburgh that she missed out on most of the fun!! Gianna and I spent most of the time on the couch (yes, and this include throughout the the night too.) Needless to say, we were all a little tired, but enjoyed listening to the fun things Garyn did with my parents. They went Overly's to see the lights. And from what I understand, he loved the talking Christmas tree so much, that he didn't even sit on Santa's lap. He also had his typical date with my mom....the movies. It was a nice week home, I just wished Gigi could have enjoyed it a little more. At least she was able to visit the Pittsburgh Children's Museum. Mister Roger's Neighborhood was the biggest hit!

After Thanksgiving we were Chicago bound....we went to Chicago to spend the weekend with our friends. What a fun weekend. We enjoyed the sites Christmas and sounds of the hustle and bustle of Christmas shoppers. The city looked beautiful. We ate lunch at the Walnut Room in Macy's. WOW, what a beautiful tree and fantastic food. Gianna especially liked the pixie dust she received from the fairy princesses. We also experienced the Winter Wonderland fest at Navy Pier....and talk about spectacular!!! The kids had a blast and I must admit, I did too! The rides, the train, the cookie decorating, the characters greeting everyone throughout the festival, and most of all ice skating with Garyn and Gianna for the first time, made it a wonderful day!!!! So what better to do after ice skating than to go back to the hotel and swim!!!! It was a wonderful weekend, I look forward to making it a yearly tradition!

After we returned from Chicago, we attended Garyn's first preschool evening program. His Christmas program was so fun to watch....they sang carols and rang bells and laughed....Garyn did awesome, hard to believe my little man is getting so big!

So as if that was not enough....we had a party to plan for and ugh....it was kinda stressful, but in the end VERY well worth it! We invited friends and family to help kick off the Christmas week....tons of food, tons of beverages, and tons of fun! Thanks to all that came....can't wait for next year!

And after all that.....we finally were awarded the best gift of all....watching Garyn and Gianna open their gifts from Santa!! What wonderful, innocent delight! Garyn's favorite gift was probably the dragon fortress and Gigi's was the giraffe bike! However, now that it's been a month or two....all the gifts have been played with over and over!!!

It was a wonderful Christmas with my family here. We utilized my kitchen over and over...my brother and mom worked their magic over and over and by the end of the week, my pants were TIGHT!!!!

So here we are 2010....it's gonna be a great year! Lots of changes, lots of work, and lots of fun....Can't wait to take the journey!

WAY TO GO GiGi

Today was Gianna's second class at A+ Gymnastics and I am so very proud of her! She is in a class with two year olds (two other girls) and has no problem keeping up with them. She stretches and makes "pizza." Her favorite part of the class is jumping on the long floor trampoline and loves to fall in the "pit" of blocks at the end of the trampoline. It is so much fun to watch Gianna. The past two classes (along with everything else she does on a daily basis) have made me realize that my baby girl is growing too, too fast!

She looks so grown up with her leotard on while swinging over the bars or walking across the balance beam. A+ Gymnastics does a great job encouraging the children to try new things and has a very creative way of teaching them the basics of gymnastics.

It is also VERY important to tell everyone that while we were at gymnastics this morning, GiGi peed twice on the potty. Once before class began, and once during class....so like I said, she is showing me everyday, every way that she is no longer a baby!!

Party Party Party

Garyn anxiously waited all week for Friday morning....he helped make ghost, put together candy bags, and talked and talked and talked about the fun he was going to have with his friends!!! And when he woke up on friday morning, I was asked repeatedly every 15 mins, if "it was time yet."

Time for our Halloween party.

I invited our neighborhood friends over for stories, games, and snacks!! What fun we had...the kids made bats and pumpkins, hunted for ghost, played ghost bowling, pinned the nose on the pumpkin, and listened to a few different Halloween storybooks. And after all that excitement, they had a picnic on the ground snacking on spider crackers, witches brew, breadstick bones, mummy hotdogs, and jello jigglers for something sweet...

The kids were excellent and had so much fun!!!!

Garyn and Gianna add many special and important things to my life. But, maybe one of the best "things" they give me is the experience to be a kid again. There is nothing better than watching them have fun, experience new adventures and NOTHING compares to watching them in their life journey...

I grew up with a great childhood, and I am so blessed to be living another one as I watch my children travel through theirs...

Life is good!

It only takes one person to make your day better...

When the going gets tough, one single person can make all the difference in the world.

As a mom, there are more ups than downs, and sometimes I spend too much time on the downs...Garyn had a bad weekend, he tested our authority numerous times, yelled, and was very "scattered" all weekend. Nothing seemed to "get through" to him, therefore, by Sunday night, all of my patience and understanding were gone, so I yelled back.... I hate when I lose control, and by yelling, I had lost the "fight."

Needless to say, I went to bed upset and woke up still frustrated. We started our morning as usual and things were fine....nothing different than any other day, but I still wasn't "over" the past weekend. I was beating myself up for my son's behavior. BUT, today at gymnastics, a friend, said something to me that made everything okay....and from then on, I was fine. I regained my confidence as a mom!

Thanks Heather....you probably don't even realize how your words helped my day!

Healthy Check up!!!

GiGi went on Thursday for her 18 month wellness visit! She is growing, she is happy, and healthy!!! Gianna weighed in at 22lbs. 7 oz. and 31 inches long (she is my little peanut...she falls in the 25 percentile for both height and weight!) She is accomplishing all of her age appropriate milestones and more! The worst part of the visit is the shots, of course. GiGi did well, but reminded us throughout the day of her "boo boo's."

It is hard to believe my baby girl is on her way to being two! Where does the time go???