twas the night before christmas...

sofia left out milk and cookies for santa claus tonight...his little elves are working hard to make tomorrow morning special for the kids!

last night anthony took the girls to a christmas party that we attend each year. mario has had a cough the last couple days so we decided it would be best to not spread germs to all the other little girls and boys and he and i had a night in. but the girls were excited because they got to sit on santa's lap and tell him what they wanted for christmas. i love these pictures that anthony took...

Making Reindeer Food!

In accordance with our advent calendar, today's activity was to make reindeer food for the big night. Which is tomorrow night! How did that happen??? Didn't we just begin decorating for Christmas and buying gifts?! This month went way too fast for me.

First day of Christmas break and the girls had fun putting together a little bag each that they will run out to the front lawn before going to bed Christmas Eve. I have a sweet memory of Anthony and Sofia one year. We were walking her upstairs to bed and nearly forgot about the reindeer food, she probably reminded us knowing Sofia. I would have had mommy guilt had we just not done it and he picked her up and ran her outside to sprinkle in the grass. I can still hear her little squeals.

Mario turns 1!

It's no shock that I take a lot of pictures. There will be a day or two that goes by that I haven't taken any but that doesn't happen very often. It's just what I do. And I love it.

Starting with Sofia, I took a picture every month on (or around) the day of her birth with a stuffed animal dog that Anthony bought for the baby before she was even born. We did the same for Olivia and now Mario too. Here's a look back on the year:

He had a nice, quiet little first birthday today. A couple good naps, some playing and a whole lot of his new favorite thing - walking!

Hanging with big sister Olivia when she got home from school...

and big-big sister Sofia right before bed

Oh! And the walking. SO proud of himself too. 

Happy 1st Birthday to one amazing little baby boy!

1 year ago today...Happy 1st Birthday Mario Luca!

Mario Luca was born at 10:38am on Wednesday, December 18, 2013. I had to ask the doctor twice if she was sure that we had in fact had a boy. I couldn't believe it! Could have been all the medicine I was on with the cesarean. From the second I was able to hold him, I fell so in love with my little man. A little prince to love and be a part of our life with two little princesses. He really is the perfect fit to our family. What a special impact he has made on us all.

So much to look back on in the past year and so many wonderful memories made with family and friends. Too many pictures and moments to choose from but I tried to pick my absolute favorite.

A year of love.

A couple more pictures from yesterday of the little man...not only is he consistently taking steps, but he's climbed on just about everything he can in the house. Time to babyproof- AGAIN!

The two bottom teeth are completely in at this point and waiting for more little chiclit teeth to come in. My smiley little boy, ready with a big grin for the camera.

Our very own party of five! Feeling utterly blessed and thankful for these loves I get to call my own.

Happy Birthday Mario, we love you so much little man.

School Christmas Show

Last night we had the girls' Christmas show for their school and it was so great to be there. Last year at the time of their show, I had just had Mario the day before and was still in the hospital. It's events like these that make me certain of our decision to send our kids to a smaller catholic school. The sense of community is amazing and I really feel like the whole experience has been very personal.

My parents have made it to every Christmas show that the girls have been in and we appreciate it so much as they watch our kids grow, learn and sing! I know the girls love having them there too!

A Palumbi/Pitocco/Yeager family shot from last night:

only 9 days until Christmas...

someone is enjoying being mobile this Christmas! just 2 days shy of his first birthday and he's been taking steps pretty consistently. it's amazing how fast this past year went. what happened to this little baby from last year:

an evening in centro storico

I'm getting behind on my posts from this past summer in Italy and I hope to post a few more times before the end of the year. Need to post them before we start planning for our next trip over!

One evening we went into centro storico (the old town) for a walk and to watch "Mesagnese nel Mondo" - the people of Mesagne in the world. My mom was one of those people since she is from Mesagne and has since left the town. It was pretty cool listening to the performers and interviewers and the girls were so good. Mario, on the other hand, preferred being strolled and not so much just sitting still. So, unfortunately he and I headed home with Olivia before we got to see my mom go on stage but Sofia made sure to tell us all about it since she went on stage with Nonna too!

The girls and I strolled Mario before the show began and took in a little more of centro storico, one of my favorite places ever. I just love the old town so much with it's cobblestone streets, old churches and narrow alleys. It's every bit of perfect to me.

How sweet do they look?!?

Waiting for the show to begin. How cool is that evening sky? 

A Maryland 1st Birthday celebration for Mario Luca!

We celebrated with family and friends this past weekend the (almost) first birthday of my little man. Can not believe that nearly a year has gone by with Mario and since becoming a family of five. This year flew!

It was a fun day and I think Mario enjoyed every second. Except for the cupcake we got for him. He played with the icing, attempted putting a piece of cake in his mouth and then wanted nothing to do with it. He definitely doesn't have his mommy's sweet tooth...yet.

A boy and his toys. Fun with Daddy after opening presents!

Zio Antonio and cutey-pie Mason in their matching buffalo checkered flannel, a couple of fashionistas.

Mario with his Zia Chaela, Zio Scotty and cugini Chase and Mason

Zio Scotty being silly, you can't see it too well, but Mario was smiling and loving it!

Love my brothers!

All cozy and jammied up with Nonna and Nonno

sharing is caring

Some pictures of the girls at the beach in Italy over the summer. Pretty typical morning...playing in the water and sand, taking walks along and of course enjoying some ice cream. They've been known to order the same thing in the past but I think they're catching onto ordering two different types and then taking a bite out of one another's. These little images were so special to me and too cute not to try and snap up in a photo.

Now if they would just share calmly like that ALL the time not just with ice cream.

Silly Christmas Pictures

A fun activity on our advent calendar a couple years ago was the "Silly Christmas Picture"and this year it was fun getting Mario in on the action too. Giving our Elf on the Shelf, Bert, a run for his money. He's definitely cuter than the other elf that is always keeping tabs on the kids and reporting back to Santa.

Not to worry, Anthony was standing directly in front of him on the mantel. This is when shooting pictures in high speed continuous of the kids comes in handy.

My little caroler Olivia

Olivia pretends she's a unicorn using Christmas decor

Each kid has loved this book!

Sofia-the-red-nosed-reindeer

Christmas is in the air!

The girls were off from school yesterday and while we had an eventful weekend with Zio Antonio in town and visiting the Big Apple for the day, I still wanted to do something with the kids. Something Christmas-y, closeby and not a lot of hassle with a stroller. Off to Linvilla Orchards we went to check out their Christmas displays and for a little sweet!

Linvilla is a favorite spot for us to visit throughout the year and this visit proved no different. Although not there to cut-our-own-tree, we checked out the markets and the Christmas decorations. Cousin Simon met us there too!

The random Italian-flag pumpkin beside the sign advertising cut-your-own-tree.

My little kiddos. Mario either looks very bored and is about ready for his afternoon nap.

This was a simple little craft the girls did last week as part of our Advent Activity Calendar.

What you'll need:

scrapbook paper - I used shades of green and cut strips of different sizes
colorful cardstock paper for ornaments and star
punchouts - thankfully I have more than enough of these on hand
glue stick

I think they came out pretty cute! I still have leftover scrapbook paper to make my own too!

Thanks to Pinterest for finding the blogpost where I got the idea from!!!

Raindrops falling on my head...in New York City!

We spent a day in New York City this past weekend and despite the rainy weather, we had a really fun time. Last year was the first year we skipped our annual Christmas trip to New York, something about being 37 weeks pregnant and not wanting to walk around a big, crowded city. A few links of just past New York trips. Anthony and I have gone every year, except last of course, since we started dating.

We basically have this trip down to the perfect combination of taking in the sights and chilling out a bit too. After a walk through Times Square, we head to lunch. While we like trying new places, since starting these trips with the kids, it's safe to say that we take comfort in knowing exactly where we will go and what to expect. Namely, is it going to be comfortable for us taking our kids to eat at a decent lunch spot? A favorite restaurant, McCormick and Schmick's, closed in the last year in NYC so went to another favorite, Connolly's Pub. Not only is there good food, but right near everything we want to see too.

The girls were so excited that Zio Antonio could come with us this year. We missed Zio Scott and family though! 

After lunch we go visit Rockefeller Plaza, St. Patrick's Cathedral (which is under renovation this year), Radio City Music Hall and then back through Times Square to get back to our car. The rain must have kept other people at home (and dry) so it really was not nearly as crowded as it usually is which worked out well since we had a stroller this year to navigate through crowds.

Last stop this year was Little Italy for hot chocolate and dessert. Delicious way to end an awesome day trip to New York City!