My little photog Sofia

Kind of an interesting angle with a perfect view of Olivia these days - belly sticking out and non-stop drooling. She is definitely teething and we are trying everything to make her as comfortable as possible. Poor thing only has 4 teeth and feels like she's getting the remainder in all at once!

3 and a half years ago today...

Sofia Vincenza, my babydoll, born 3 and a half years ago today. Crazy to think that this time 3 and a half years ago, I was on my way to my 38 week appt only to be told that the baby had turned and was no longer head down AND I was too low on fluid to turn the baby or go another day. So, c-section it was and at 8:11pm on March 29th we met the most perfect little baby. All 6 lbs 14 ounces of her, screaming her lungs out just wanting to be snuggled up and loved. And so that's what we did and continue to do.

I love you so much Sofia and am so so blessed that you made me a mommy.

Prima Ballerina

Sofia began ballet classes last week and it's just the cutest thing. She's been talking about ballet for a bit now and so I found one not too far from home and reasonably priced so we're giving it a try. She's still a little timid and won't participate the entire time, but she loves it and talks about it a ton at home.


Seriously, how cute is she?

Our little photographer

I just downloaded pictures from our smaller digital camera and I am proud to say that the majority of those pictures were taken by none other than Sofia. These pictures are from soon after our return from Italy and we were just sitting around the basement, eating pizza with family. Sofia grabbed the camera and amongst the hundred or so pictures of her foot or her cup, there were a couple cute ones of us too.


Nonna Maria


Simon


Olivia and Simon


Anthony, Olivia & I

soul mates

Yes, I know. They are really cute.

they keep me laughing

Just some good ol'fashion silliness by my little girls. They love to be in the same room with one another...hope it's always like that between these girls of mine.

And on his farm he had a horse...

I took the girls to Ridley Creek State Park yesterday morning and we stopped off at a horse farm for a walk. We've been before for walks, a stop at the park or just to have a snack near the horse farm and it's always been a good time. Yesterday was no different.


Olivia had fun showing me the horses




Sofia collected acorns


and we spotted a fuzzy-looking caterpillar which the girls had to watch crawl all the way across the path.






Everything about our little adventure to the horse farm was perfect. It's close to home, it's free and the girls get fresh air while watching some of the day-to-day at a horse farm. The "cowboys" (Sofia kept calling them that) were cleaning the stalls, feeding the horses and putting water in their tubs. Sofia later asked me if horses eat fruit bars (their snack while we were there) and who brushed their teeth. I guess she was concerned for their dental hygiene when she saw the size of their mouth!

Love is all around

Our friends Paul and Kate got married this past weekend and we just had the best time! Anthony was a groomsmen which meant we were able to celebrate with the bride and groom Friday AND Saturday night.

Friday's rehearsal dinner was at the delicious Ristorante Panorana at the Penn's View Hotel. The dinner took place in their Wine Cellar party room and was really cool.




Saturday was just beautiful. After dropping the girls off with my parent's for the rest of the weekend, I raced home to get myself ready to head to South Jersey for the ceremony and reception. They got married in the cutest little white church, Kate's family parish, and it looked like it was right out of a storybook. The guests were armed with bubbles (and plenty of them!) as the bride and groom exited the church as husband and wife.




The reception? Yes, it took place at the ballroom at the Camden Aquarium! Just before the bridal party was announced into the room, a black screen was raised at the back of the ballroom to reveal a shark tank with at least 20 sharks and another 50 or so assorted fish! It was pretty incredible! First for Anthony and I as a wedding reception locale and it was amazing!

1st Day of Preschool...kind of

So, I completely dropped the ball on Sofia's very first day of pre-school and forgot my camera!!! I know, what was wrong with me?!? I took a picture of first baths, first foods, first time in Italy...I don't bring my camera with me for the first day of school!?! Luckily for me, she liked the first day so much that she had a second day.

On her 2nd day of pre-school I treated it like the first and we got there early to take a couple pictures outside her school. AND it worked in our favor because she received her tote bag on the 1st day and so now she can show it off in the pictures.


She is LOVING school! Really gets excited the night before asking if it's tomorrow yet and wanting to know what she is going to do at school. Today was her first real day of the full 2.5 hours and she did really well. Or so she says. I'll have to wait and see if I receive a phone call tonight from her teachers!


Olivia, on the other hand, was very sad to see her sister go into the classroom and she got stuck with me. We bent down to get a hug and kiss from Sofia and I guess she thought she was going to get down and go play with her big sister. She was very upset. But she got happy again the second we were in the car because she knew she was going for a ride. Or she was just happy to have a little peace and quiet without her sister yapping the whole time. Just kidding. Olivia was SO happy to see Sofia when we picked her up and kept smiling at her the ride home.

my pensive little one

Ready, set, PLAY!

Earlier this week we met friends at the Smith Playground in Fairmont Park and it is safe to say that the girls had a great time. Sofia and I have been once before and it's embarrassing to admit that we haven't returned since. I don't even know why because that first visit with our friends Maria and Ethan was a lot of fun and I remember Sofia enjoying herself. First of all, it's a great space for the kids to just run around and have fun. The playground is huge and totally safe. AND...it's FREE!

We picked a gorgeous day to go and so we spent the entire time outdoors in the playground. And there were no complaints from the 4 kids, they were just there to have a good time.


Afterwards, the girls and I sat on our blanket in the gigantic yard in front of the mansion and had a little picnic. I learned within minutes that I needed to strap Olivia in because she kept trying to make a run for the playground again! As soon as she saw food she sat happily in her stroller while we dined alfresco.

Daddy's girl

While going through my pictures I came across a bunch that Anthony took of him and Sofia while out for a walk in Garrano. They.Are.Adorable!



This one is my favorite of the two of them. So incredibly sweet and they both look like they are just in such a happy moment.

"A" is for Apple

Sofia's first craft that she brought home from school! We've done plenty of crafts at home, the library and with friend's, but this was her very first one done at pre-school. Our refrigerator is often graced with her artwork, but she was really excited to put this one up since it came from school.

And the pre-school memories begin...

Everything in its place

Are you getting annoyed with hearing about the kitchen progress? If so, I apologize and more pictures from our Italian summer vacation are soon coming. But if you're not yet bored here are just a couple more pictures from our journey to a renovated kitchen.

Behold...my sink cabinet. Just your basic sink cabinet really...24x27 inches of space for buckets, cleaning supplies and rags.


But this sink cabinet has a hidden little gem...! The pull-down sink drawer, designed especially for OCD people like myself that believe that there really is a place for everything. And the place for the sponge is right here. Tucked out of the way in its own little compartment. Love that they can invent things that make use out of odd space!


And only I would have so much fun putting contact paper in the drawers. Anthony must have thought I had gone mad but I was just so happy to be at that point in our kitchen remodel. Putting contact paper down means that I was nearly ready to put all my stuff away. And getting things put away means my kitchen was getting back to normal. Oh happy days!

"I" is for Inquisitive little 16 month old

Olivia is 16 months old today!

She never ceases to amaze me. Always into something whether it be the toy bins, book shelves or my bathroom cabinets. Always like she's looking for something and when she sees that something, she holds on tight and inspects. This morning it was her crocs that are still a little too big for her, tags are still on and all. She spotted them and wouldn't let go through her diaper changes, getting dressed and watching Peep with her big sister. She carried them around with her all morning. It was time to leave for our playdate and I probably would have let her bring them with us had she not dropped them on her own as soon as she heard it was time to leave. She figured she had already gotten everything out of the shoes that she possibly could have and she was onto the next best thing.

Happy 16 months to my curious little one.

Color me happy!

The painting is complete and looks fantastic!

We chose a new color for our mudroom - olive tint - I love it! There was a little hesitation at first when I was thinking of a light, light green color, but I soon got over it since it's very subtle. I think it looks great with the bright white baseboard and door trim and even looks nice next to our new floor. Can't wait to put the mudroom bench back in and some things on the wall.


The kitchen painting is just beautiful. We have chair rail throughout the kitchen and breakfast nook and that has always been white. Above the chair rail we had a cream with yellow underlying tones and we now have muslin. For any of you that watch Project Runway, yes it's like the color of the material they use at times. For those of you that don't watch, it's a light tan.

Below the chair rail is my favorite of the three colors - dill weed. A beautiful green with light olive undertones, reminds me of the beautiful green of a fig leaf. I didn't steer too far from what used to be there either, a light sage color that I loved but just had grown tired of looking at everyday.

That's the beauty of a can (or three) of paint. In the grand scheme of a kitchen remodel, painting is the least expensive and can have a very profound effect on the outcome.





Stay tuned for more of our kitchen remodel!