Leaving on a jet plane

This is a guest post from Anthony

Lisa is upstairs finishing her last minute packing and I wanted to quickly post a note about how much I am going to miss my girls. I will be leaving on the 11th to meet up with them but for the next couple weeks I am on my own. I have my Honey-Do List but it won't involve changing Sofia's diapers or reading her Goodnight moon. Sigh...

I love packing!

I really do enjoy packing, I know I'm weird, but it's true. I love making lists and I do this for any trip to go over what I absolutely need to bring and then going over it again making sure I'm not overpacking. Which, no matter how hard I try, I do every time. But I still love my lists and will probably always make them for our trips.

Sofia and I leave tomorrow for Italy for 4 weeks and then Anthony will be joining us mid-July and we'll all return together 2 weeks after that. It's going to be such a variety of emotions going for my first trip with my daughter without my husband. Sad to be without Anthony, but so excited to be there and with family and friends. My mom has down this a thousand times with us all and she goes for an even longer amount of time each summer. I'm just following in her footsteps and hopefully, one day, Sofia will do the same.

I'm going to miss Anthony so much and already can't wait for him to arrive there, we always have the best time and it's such a memorable place for us both. We'll be visiting my mother-in-law in Abruzzo the first week we are there and it will be great to see her after 2 months and to see Anthony's nonna. They are very excited to see Sofia and won't even believe their eyes at how big she's gotten. AND she's walking!

A couple pictures of "helping" me pack:

Future Baker

While I was cleaning the kitchen, Sofia decides the whisk is much more exciting than any of her toys. She ran around the house with it half singing, half talking, but 100% having fun with her new "toy."

Doesn't it look like she's singing into a microphone?


Trying to make the whisk spin


Who needs toys when you have kitchen appliances?

Flashdance Revival

Sofia loves her baby legs and who wouldn't? They're adorable! We couldn't help adding the hair tie later and revisiting the 80's a bit.

Story Time

Sofia loves playing with her books and loves even more when we read to her. At this point if she's not sitting in our laps while being read to, she will sit right next to us like the big girl that she is. On average, she wants us to read the same book about 5 times before we're allowed to move onto the next one. Right now she's loving the books with the pop-up pages or the lift-the-flap books because she can do more than just sit there and get involved with the reading. She's getting so big!!!

4 more days!

This weekend Sofia and I will be leaving for Italy for 1 month and I can hardly sit still from the sheer excitement of it all! I've been doing really well with the million to-do lists I made for myself and have almost checked everything off. The last thing I need to do is pack and my goal is to not over pack which I do every time. But since Sofia is still under 2 we are taking advantage of having her sit on my lap and not pay an obscene amount of money for her ticket. Because of this, I am allowed only 1 checked baggage and a stroller and then of course my carry-on items of a carry-on luggage and a tote. Taking less will make deciding what to wear so much easier and make packing at the end of the trip quicker!

A few pictures from our trip last summer:

Hanging out on the balcony in Alba Adriatica


With Anthony's family in Abruzzo


Dancing on the roof in Mesagne


With Zio Antonio during the festival

Finger-lickin' good

Sofia had my chicken cutlets for the first time and as you can see from the picture, she didn't want to miss a crumb. Thankfully Sofia has been a pretty decent when it comes to trying new foods and at this point is eating a bit of everything. I am trying to maintain the fruits and veggies and straying from too much sugary items and so far, so good. She has enjoyed a couple licks from my ice cream cone here and there, so who knows, she may end up having a major sweet tooth like her mommy!

Clothes are a girl's best friend

Yesterday we went to visit former co-workers and Sofia got decked out in the most adorable outfit which was a birthday gift from Aunt Claudine. After I dressed her, she swirled her little hips around since I think she liked the feeling of the ruffles swaying. Sofia could wear a brown box and still look cute!

Netflix - making life easier 1 movie at a time

Anthony and I have always had one thing in common from day one - we both love movies. In our pre-baby days, we averaged about 3 movies a month out at the theatre and even when the movie wasn't all that great, we never thought of our date night as a waste since we still had fun.

Now that we are parents and going to the movies is a rarity, we've really relied on Netflix to fill that void. For just under $10/month we now have our movie date night about once a week in the comfort of our own basement once Sofia has gone to sleep. No more waiting in lines for overpriced movie tickets, no worrying about needing to use the restroom and not being able to pause the movie and no more spending $30 on a small bucket of popcorn, a box of chocolates and a medium soft drink. (Honestly, how do they sleep at night?!) While all of that used to be part of our excitement at seeing a movie (minus the overspending on snacks), we've slimmed down going out to the movies to about 1 in every 45 days which has had a healthy impact on our wallets.

We signed up with Netflix after getting married, but it's really come to good use since having a baby. It allows you to go on and select all the movies you want delivered AND in what order you would like them as well. For the cost of one movie ticket, the one-movie-at-a-time plan is perfect for us, but they do have a handful of plans to choose from. Typically, after sending a movie back we receive a new one in the mail 2 days later. It really is the best of both worlds, we get to stay up to date with movies we want to see and we don't think twice about what time to leave the house to beat the lines and catch the previews.

Who loves her daddy?

Sofia definitely has Anthony wrapped around her little finger, both of them really. As soon as she hears the key turning in the door each evening, she squeals with excitement as her daddy pops his head around the corner and gives her a big smile. She shakes her hands in the air until he comes over to give her kisses or better yet, to pick her up. Most evenings she will be glued to his side up until it's time for bed.

Senior Prom dress - Take 2

This past weekend was a busy one for us with a rehearsal dinner, two weddings and a BBQ and the last thing I wanted to think about was buying something new to wear to any of the events. My first job out of college was as an events planner/fundraiser and there were many an occasion to get all dolled up and so I decided to go through those outfits first. After rummaging through the gowns I once got so excited to wear, I was not especially thrilled about any of them. Searching my closet a little more, I found another article of clothing that was perfect for a night wedding...my senior prom dress.

I remember going shopping for my prom dress with my dad and loving it the second I saw it and even more so after trying it on and it fitting perfectly. Most people can relate to this as trips to the fitting room can prove to be less than encouraging at times. I'm not sure why I kept it all these years and didn't donate it days after my Senior Prom, but I'm so glad I kept it AND that it fit after 12 years.

All dressed up for my Senior Prom circa 1996


At George & Jessy's wedding this past Saturday night

True Romance

Congratulations to George and Jessy! Their wedding last night was perfect from start to finish and we had an incredible time. Anthony was honored to be part of the bridal party and looked so handsome in his tux. We couldn't have asked for a better time...the food was delicious, the dj/band were great and the dancing went on all night.

Mr. and Mrs. Paull enjoy their first dance


The Palumbi's and The Paull's


36 weeks pregnant and Megan is still smiling and having fun


Signature camera angle while dancing


Chatting with Jay and Sarah


Rob and Jen


The most handsome men in the room - St. Joe's Prep's finest




Westley: Hear this now, I will always come for you.
Buttercup: But how can you be sure?
Westley: This is true love - you think this happens every day?
- The Princess Bride

Luck of the Irish

An Irish wedding is never complete without a couple little jigs, some great Celtic songs and heartfelt toasts to the newlyweds. Last night we were honored to be guests at Dan and Melanie's wedding and we had a fantastic time!

Our adorable sand dollar place cards


First dance as husband and wife


The Mr. and Mrs. on the shoulders of their guests


The Palumbi's and The McCusker's



Congratulations Dan and Melanie! I am sure you are familiar with this blessing, Anthony's good friend and the best man in our wedding framed it for us for our wedding gift almost 5 years ago.

“May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.”

Bathing Beauty

Sofia loves EVERYTHING about bath time. She races to the bathroom as soon as she hears the tub filling, starts shrieking with excitement as we begin undressing her in the bathroom and her little legs start wiggling and arms go wild as we lift her to place her in the tub. She plays with her little squirt toys while getting soaped up, splashes around as we rinse her off and even squeals with glee when we take her out to dry her off and lotion her up. Maybe we have a future swimmer on our hands or maybe she just likes getting all squeaky-clean. Either way, she takes the chore out of it for Anthony and I and really makes it just plain, clean fun.

Buon Compleanno Nonna!

My Zia Mina gave me this picture not too long ago of me in my Nonna's arms standing outside her house with my mom's friend Valentina. In the picture, I am pushing away Valentina because she is teasing me...I was very protective of my Nonna.

Today would have been my Nonna's 87th birthday. To celebrate, Anthony, Sofia and I went to get ice cream on the way home from visiting with friends. It was such a nice time and I hope it becomes something we do every year on this day.

Cuddle buddies

Sofia has had a busy week...2 molars coming in, started walking pretty consistently and not being as interested in her morning nap. That's a lot of change for an almost 15-month-old. Being that she's cranky from not wanting to nap mid-morning and fussy from teeth coming in, it's been an interesting week for us. She's taking it pretty well, but she's definitely had her moments (throwing pasta and bread on the floor is fun for her this week).

Sofia and I cuddled on the couch to settle down from the day's activities

Getting excited for Italy

It's been a year since our last trip to Italy and realizing that Sofia was only 3 months old at the time, she may not remember everyone she met on her trip to the motherland. We have plenty of pictures around the house of family and friends for her to look at, but there is one person in particular that we want to make sure Sofia recognizes...her bis-nonna, Nonna Linda.

Every morning we walk out to the living room and Sofia points up to a picture on our piano and won't stop pointing until I give her the picture. She then proceeds to give the picture hundreds of kisses. We can't wait to actually arrive in Italy, see Nonna Linda and watch how Sofia gets all excited that the person in the picture she kisses each morning is right there in front of her!

She knows where to find a picture of Nonna Linda


Giving her bis-nonna kisses


More kisses for Nonna Linda

Maybe a little Picasso in the making...

This year for Father's Day we made a card for Anthony and he loved it - it went right on the refrigerator! I gave her a crayon and after we wrote out 'I heart Daddy' and drew a little picture, I just let her do whatever. After she stopped trying to draw on the table, she made some marks on the paper and was so pleased with herself. She kept looking up at me like 'Am I doing that?' It was too cute and better than any experience of buying a card in a store.

A sign of summer

When watermelons fill the stands at your local produce market, you know summer is just around the corner. Sofia had some this past weekend and it was like she couldn't get enough. Loaded with vitamins and fun to eat, it makes the perfect afternoon snack especially on the hot and humid days the East Coast is so famous for. By the time she finished devouring her slice, she had watermelon juice running down her neck and both arms. But by looking at the huge smile on her sticky round face you could tell that she didn't care in the least at being all messy.

Walk This Way

Happy Father's Day!

Hope all the father's, grandfather's, godfather's, etc. had a fantastic Father's Day! We were in MD for about 24 hours this weekend to try and split the time between my dad and father-in-law and we had a great time. Anthony celebrated his 2nd Father's Day to the best baby girl and I'm pretty sure Sofia is aware of just how wonderful her daddy really is...she didn't want to leave his side for the majority of the day and made sure he was within arm's reach at all times.

Anthony wearing one of his Father's Day gifts


Playing with Nonno Nick


Sitting with Anthony after just having woken up from her nap

Babywearing

For anyone interested in a multi-position carrier, I highly recommend the Ergo. It was one of my Mother's Day gifts this year and so far, so good! With this carrier you can wear your baby in front (tummy-to-tummy), on the hip or on your back and Sofia seems comfortable in all 3 positions. Anthony had to help me the first time trying the back position, but as long as I am seated and Sofia's willing, we're good to go.

We used the Baby Bjorn when Sofia was just months old and once she outgrew that I moved onto the Hip Hammock. While both have been great for us, the Ergo handles all the positions that our other carriers do and it's just as comfortable for me to wear if not moreso. Had I done my research prior to having Sofia I might have just registered for the Ergo from the beginning but hindsight is 20/20. All babies are different and whenever baby numero 2 comes along maybe he or she might be picky and prefer one over the other.

Antonio comes to visit

Yesterday my mom brought Antonio up to spend the night with us and Sofia loved having him around. Not only did she have her pal there to play with her, but he read to her and helped Anthony with her bath and me with her meals. After dinner last night, the 4 of us walked to get ice cream and I really think Sofia loved looking back in her stroller and seeing her Zio Antonio pushing her around.

So happy that Zio Antonio is here


Just like mommy and loving mint chocolate chip ice cream


Zio Antonio and Sofia flipping through her album


And lastly, our little lovebug walking to Zio