Baby Simon comes to visit!

Simon and I hung out earlier this week and we had a ton of fun! I had him all to myself too since Sofia was down at my parent's house for 2 nights. Well, all to myself until Uncle Anthony showed up early from work to get some playtime in with his godson.

We brought up Sofia's playmat for Simon to use - we'll be using it again real soon!


Godfather and godson hanging out





Tired from all the playing

How to dress up a diaper cloth

We know that Sofia is a huge fan of her "mia" and won't part with it for anything. It's just a simple white burp cloth that she's had since day 1 and so we're not confined to this one security blanket, I have 12 of them to just toss in the wash every couple days. Smart momma! Well, with baby numero 2's arrival in just a couple weeks I wanted to make sure that since we'll use diaper cloths again, that Sofia didn't get hers confused with her baby brother or sister's. While we're not going to be able to control the things they will argue about, this one thing hopefully with not be an issue

I looked around the stores and while I found some other diaper cloths that we could use, I wasn't really happy with any of them so I decided to make my own. You know, because I have nothing else to do! They ended up being very simple to do and took very little time - key words for anyone!

Materials:
Plain 3-ply cloth diapers
Fabric
White thread
Scissors
Iron
Pins
Sewing machine


Instructions:

1. Wash and dry both the diaper cloths and fabric to allow for shrinkage. Iron fabric. Cut fabric so that the pieces are two inches longer than the diaper cloth and two inches wider than the center fold.

2. Fold under and iron down the short sides of the fabric so that they’re about 1/4″ smaller than the diaper. Repeat for the long sides to fit within the center fold.

3. Pin down along all sides.

4. Now sew away! I used white thread and chose a tiny zig-zag for along my borders.

FINITO!

Baby at 36.5 weeks

I had my latest pre-natal visit yesterday and along with now going weekly, I will be having weekly ultrasounds to make sure my fluids are good. With Sofia I had low fluids towards the end of the pregnancy, so they're just taking a precaution this time around by giving me weekly ultrasound checks on the amniotic fluid. I don't mind because I get to take a peek at the little monkey that's squirming around.

It's not the best profile shot, but I thought it was cute that the baby had their one hand over their forehead and the other on their chin. He or she is probably thinking "when can I get out of this place?" and "what's with all the Oreo cookies!"

Sofia and Nonna Lisa

My mom came up yesterday to pick up Sofia for two nights to give me some down time before this baby arrives. I can't get over how quiet the house is without her here!! No little pattering of feet running left and right, no "mommy, mommy" every two seconds coming from a tiny little mouth and no reading, playing or snuggling with the cutest little two year old there is! I miss her so much!

It is good for me to have this time to get some things done around the house as well as put my feet up and relax a bit. I'm going to begin my next sewing project and I feel like I'll get it completed sooner. When I've had the sewing machine on Sofia likes to dance around the cord plugged into the wall and I'm constantly saying "back away from the plug please." Better to get these little things I have to do done now because for some reason I have the feeling that two and a half weeks from now, I'm going to have little time to get much done!

Oh, and I have my next pre-natal visit this afternoon as well as another ultrasound! Can't wait to see the little monkey on screen again - he or she is constantly kicking and rolling around!

Would you like a little ham with that cheese?!

Honestly, could her smile get any bigger?!? Anthony and Sofia enjoying some reading time together.

Sofia and the balloon

After our visit to the hair salon yesterday, we took a walk through Suburban Square. The weather was perfect for being outdoors and Sofia had a great time running around the plaza. They were even handing out balloons - much to her excitement and wouldn't let go of it the whole walk!

Purple Flower

Sofia visits the hair salon

This morning we took Sofia for a visit to Cookie Cutters, a salon specializing in haircuts for tots. She's had her haircut before by a friend of the family and by myself, but I wanted to give her some salon treatment. I had been talking it up all week to her and she was excited to set off this morning to "get hair cut by nice lady."

The salon is set up with a number of fun chairs for the children to choose from - Sofia opted against the taxi-cab and chose the red car instead. Each station is equipped with its own small flat screen T.V. and they let the kid choose from a number of shows to watch. Sofia chose Thomas the Train, of course, and settled into the seat for her first professional salon experience.

She wasn't too keen on the lady spraying her head with the water bottle, but after some coaxing allowed her to soak her hair and trim the ends. We got 2.5 inches taken off and her hair looks adorable! Her hair was getting pretty long and while 2.5 inches may sound like a lot, it falls just right around her shoulder now and is still long enough to put back in slips and a ponytail. Brava Sofia mia!!!

Simple Sewing - Valance How-To

The valance I made for our family room is finished!!! It came out pretty good if I do say so myself. The before picture is not actually what it looked like but we took down the old drapes and threw out the blinds before I thought to take a picture. But we have a simple vinyl shade there now for privacy at night, white sheers and a red print valance. I love it! Sofia also approves and she said to us "looks real cute."


The before window


The finished product



Sewing a valance can be super simple.

What you need:
- sewing machine
- fabric
- coordinating thread

I did not line this valance as I did the first one I made mainly because I didn't think it needed it and would take less time.

What to do:
1. Wash and iron fabric.
2. Measure window and cut fabric. Our window is 6 feet across so I measured for 7.5 feet to allow for hemming and slight shirring.
3. Hem all sides of the fabric.
4. Pin down fabric along the top to measure for curtain rod hole. Pinning down every few inches helps to make it easier to sew in a straight line. It's a lot harder than it looks!
5. Sew along the pins, trim any loose thread and VOILA! You have your valance!

Happy Love Thursday!

One of Sofia's favorite people is Uncle Jay. Jay is a high school friend of Anthony's whom she just ADORES and asks for all the time. If you came to our wedding you will remember him because he was Anthony's best man. Well, she must pick up on the way we feel about him because she loves him too. He stopped in recently to see her and read some books together. She couldn't ask for anything more - two of her favorite things...books and Uncle Jay.

New blog name?

With the arrival of baby numero 2 quickly approaching, I have to get a lot of duckies in order. Along with washing baby clothes, buying newborn diapers, getting the infant car seat and cradle out again and prepping Sofia for a baby brother or sister, I am forced to make a decision about the blog. The link to the blog will remain the same, of course, but the actual title 'Sofia Vincenza' is going to have to change so as to not make the new baby feel un-welcomed.

Two options I have been tossing around are to include this baby's name (once he or she has arrived naturally) or completely changing it altogether. The problem with just adding the name of the new baby is in case we have more and then would need to change it again. I guess you could say I'm leaning towards just changing the name of the blog. Sniff, sniff. I am sure Sofia will understand, right?

iHeartFaces

This is a great photography blog that has fun weekly contests. I decided to go ahead and enter the one of Sofia and I from her 2nd birthday party just weeks ago. It was after we sang her "Happy Birthday" and she wanted to be snuggled. Guess all the attention made her more cuddly than usual.




Make sure to check out the iHeartFaces site weekly to check out more of their contests and to see the other entries - they are all so inspiring!

Celebrate with Ben & Jerry's

In honor of their 31st anniversary, Ben & Jerry's will be giving out a free scoop of ice cream to its customers. If you happen to live near a Ben & Jerry's, I suggest you take them up on this...it's not everyday you get something this good for free!

Another great yard sale find!

Yay for spending 50 cents on the most adorable patio chair for Sofia!!! She loves it and used it a lot this weekend with the gorgeous weather we had.

Magnolias in bloom

I completely love this time of year when a simple walk around our neighborhood gives us such inspiring images. We are supposed to be in for a gorgeous weekend and I'm looking forward to lots of outdoor time to take in all the blooms and fresh air.

Happy Weekend!

Yard Sale Season

Pretty soon Saturday mornings will be filled up with visiting various yard sales in the neighborhoods. Even if I don't buy anything, I love browsing the tables for unique finds and of course, the cheap deals.

Our church has a huge garage sale each year the week after Easter. Which means it's going on now and if you're in the area, it's definitely worth stopping in to see if there's anything you need (or just want). We always score some good children's books for the playroom along with a couple for our own growing library. Last year we were given two outdoor toys for Sofia from each Nonna that they found at yard sales at amazing deals and in perfect shape. I guess you could say that we inherited the love of yard sales from our parents!

Lately I've been loving the blue/white theme and I happened across a small planters pot, a pitcher and tablecloth/napkin set all for $6! The tablecloth and napkin set are soaking, hence not showing up for the photo-op.



Don't you just LOVE a good deal!

Happy Love Thursday!

Signs of spring are everywhere today and I am LOVING it! After running some errands, Sofia and I spent the rest of the morning outdoors taking in the clear skies, the sun's warm rays and the blooming trees and flowers.

34 weeks

No, I'm not smuggling a soccer ball home from Maryland, that is actually my belly at 34 weeks pregnant! May is right around the corner, not too much longer before we meet our little one!

Easter Day

We spend every Easter with my family in Maryland. Our tradition has been to go to mass as a family in the morning and then home to eat for the rest of the day...and I'm not exaggerating we literally eat the rest of the day. My mom starts us off with antipasti of cheeses, veggies and shrimp cocktail. Then we're onto cannelloni (a favorite of Scott and mine) as well as homemade meatballs, homemade bread, lamb and potatoes, grilled shrimp, steak and salad. No meal would be complete without a slew of desserts that include chocolate-dipped fruit, cookies, and cake. I'm just full listing everything we had to eat that day!

Sofia running around the front yard in her adorable dress


My loves

Easter family picture


My dad and brothers relaxing after the wonderful meal my mom prepared


Perfect end to a perfect meal...cookies!

Biscotti per Sofia

Nonna Lisa made Sofia some special Easter cookies this past weekend which she enjoyed very much! And being the big girl that she is, as soon as she saw the biscotti, she spelled out each of the letters on her own and said "Sofia!"

Friends, Fun & Fuddruckers

We had a very fun-packed Easter weekend in Maryland. Things started off Friday evening with dinner with friends at Fuddruckers - can you say YUMMY! Sofia had a great time playing with Lily and Gabe and the adults had a great time catching up and watching the kids run around!

Sofia enjoying her grilled cheese and french fries


Riding the green dinosaur (even without money in it she still had a good time!)


Lily and Sofia playing in the green dinosaur


Gabe being all sorts of cute at the car chase arcade game

Buona Pasqua!

Hope everyone has a very blessed and happy Easter!

Another day, another valance

So, you may think I'm going a little crazy with the makeover of a few of the window treatments in our home. But it's been a lot of fun for me! First off, it's fun to pick out a fabric from the literally hundreds to choose from, plan it and do it myself. There's also something to be said for paying $8 for a simple do-it-yourself project.

Next up is the family room on the first floor. I've had the same boring white curtains in there for almost 6 years now and they've definitely seen better days. We replaced the gross mini-blinds with simple vinyl shades that allows for a lot more natural light which is an obsession of mine too. I'm going to hang some sheers and then throw together a valance and VOILA! We'll have a new look for a room we use ALL the time.

Stay tuned for some before and after pictures!

Ninna Nanna

Singing Ninna O, but really waiting to just see herself on the video I recorded.

Sofia does a pretty good rendition of the part of the Italian children's lullaby that she knows by heart:

"Ninna O, Ninna O, questa bimba a chi lo do?
Se lo do alla Befana, se lo tiene una settimana."

Happy Love Thursday

Bunny Love!



Our little bunny is getting excited for Easter!!!

Adam Lambert performs 'Mad World'

He has to win American Idol! Really the only reason I'm watching so intently this season - he is incredible!

UPDATE: The video was removed from You Tube, but to witness the awesomeness, find it here!

Palm Sunday with the Palumbi's

Palm Sunday is spent with Anthony's family each year and Easter with mine. Sunday was a gorgeous day (FINALLY!) and we had a great time. Naturally, there was plenty of good food to go around and good fun - especially because of Sofia and Simon!

Simon sleeping on Nonno Mario


Playing with cards that Zia Paola and Uncle Dan gave her in her Easter basket


Reading 'Are you my mother?' to her cugino, Baby Simon


Zia Paola and Simon, already 4 months old!