Olivia's first haircut

So, we wanted to give Olivia her first haircut while we were in MD with my family, but didn't. She had a bath down there, but we decided to wait on the haircut after all. Until this evening after her bath and I took a pair of scissors to her little tendrils. She was very good, for the most part and looks adorable now that I've straightened up her hair a bit. Needless to say, it's a bit shorter than I had anticipated since I had to keep evening it out.

Oh, and the picture was taken with our point and shoot and we realized after downloading the pictures that there were tiny little fingerprints all over the lens glass. We can thank Sofia for that!

More turkey

Last night we celebrated Thanksgiving again with my in-laws. Turkey, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes - Take 2. It was delicious!


Sofia mia

I don't know what it is about pool tables, but my girls LOVE to play on top of my in-laws' table. They roll the balls up and down the table trying to get them in the pockets, play with the score dials and just love to sit up there. Maybe it makes them feel taller.

Christmas PJs

Nonno Nicky bought the girls Christmas pajamas over the Thanksgiving weekend and I think they love them!

Gobble, Gobble

We had an absolutely incredible few days in Maryland celebrating Thanksgiving. It was the perfect combination of everything you would want to experience over a holiday. Plenty of fun baking, some good ol'relaxing and a ton of laughs.


Nonna Lisa put an apron on the girls while they helped her in the kitchen. It was an apron that my Nonna used to wear when she was staying with us and they both looked so adorable in it. Olivia knew how adorable she was in it and wouldn't stop running all over the place to show herself off!






About to sit for hour upon hour of some very good eating.


The guys worked on the tree yesterday...


while the girls watched and played with Nonna Lisa.

Thankful

Everyday I wake up thankful for many things. A solid 6 hours of sleep, good health, a roof over our heads and food in our fridge. But on this day of Thanksgiving I give special thanks for my incredible husband, our healthy and happy girls, and our caring families and friends.

I love the holidays and Thanksgiving is just another great holiday to be with the ones you love and enjoy your time together. Eat good food, relax while playing cards or in front of the tv and listening to the girls shrieking in the background because they're having so much fun. That's great any day but it makes it even more special when it's a holiday.

Holidays also make me a little reminiscent. So, naturally I was rifling through old photos and came across a few of my favorite pictures from Sofia and Olivia's first Thanksgivings. My little cuties.











Happy Thanksgiving!

More fun at the beach - Italian style!

We spent a lot of time at the beach during our 6 weeks in Italy and I have hundreds of pictures to prove it. During our 5 weeks in Mesagne, we went to the beach just about every other day since it's so close and the girls got used to that routine pretty quickly.

Santa Cesarea Terme

On our drive home from Santa Maria di Leuca we stopped in the small coastal town of Santa Cesarea Terme. Just a little further north than Leuca but still along the same beautiful coast of the Adriatic Sea. It was afternoon and the streets were very quiet with just the occasional tourist returning from the beach or out enjoying the stillness of the town.

The afternoon is one of my favorite times to be out and about in Italy because in most towns there's nothing going on. The majority of shops are closed during these hours, kids aren't out playing and traffic is close to non-existent. It's perfect. Especially perfect for me since I learned to drive stick shift on this last trip to Italy and the afternoon was the ONLY time I was willing to be on the road. A lot easier to drive when there aren't any other cars to get in my way.

Santa Maria di Leuca

Anthony was only in Mesagne for a week and so in the rushing to and from relatives and friends, we also managed to escape for a few hours on our own. We went to Santa Maria di Leuca which I have been to before but this was his first visit. So, naturally, we wanted to document it on the video camera as well.


Leuca is just around 3 hours from my parent's home and is basically the southern-most tip of Puglia. Not a big town really, but settled along the Adriatic and Ionian waters. And it is gorgeous. Really gorgeous.


Basilica, De Finibus Terrae



Perfectly blue waters for miles and miles.

My little girl

Sofia just went to her first birthday party of a schoolmate and had a great time. It was a tea party theme and all the girls looked adorable. Each brought along a doll, wore a dress and sat at a small table all set with tea party accessories - cups & saucers, sugar dish and of course, a little tea pot. It was really cute and I just loved how much fun Sofia had and how she's spoken of it since.

18 months old

Olivia turned 18 months this past Monday and I'm still getting over the shock.


Can't believe this is where we were 18 months ago...






Although sometimes it feels like I have 2 preschoolers since she's trying to do just about everything Sofia does. We just put the high chair away this week since Miss Olivia basically refused to sit in it and pointed to the table and said "Sit!" So, now she's in a booster seat at the table with the rest of us and happy as a clam. She sits across from Sofia and they make faces at one another through most of the meal. It's hysterical. Most of the time anyway.

Operation Christmas Child

Sofia's preschool does a pretty wonderful thing for the Christmas holiday and I'm so proud that Sofia is a part of it. The teachers sent out a letter to all students suggesting that rather than giving them gifts at Christmas, we could participate in Operation Christmas Child. They provide us with the shoe box and we fill with goodies for a child in need.

Well, we had so much fun getting together a little girl's Christmas gift of school supplies, candy and even a little doll. It is really touching that Sofia's school is so supportive of projects like this one that really try to make a difference all year long but especially at Christmastime. Her teachers are always speaking of ways to make others feel good and how to do good in our world. It makes me so happy that not only is she learning the typical day-to-day preschool routine, but she is also learning valuable life lessons from her teachers.

I love Annapolis!

While in Maryland this past weekend, we took a walk through downtown Annapolis to enjoy the fall air along the water. It was a perfect morning for a stroll through the tiny streets and a stop along Main Street for some hot chocolate and candy. The girls had a great time and Sofia has already asked me when we're going back to Annapolis.


Zio Scott and Zia Chaela met us downtown for a bit also and gave the girls some lovin' too. Zia Chaela is well into her 2nd trimester and we CAN'T wait for baby Pitocco to make HIS appearance!


Her eyes were bigger than her stomach when it came to this sprinkle-coated caramel candy apple. We went into the store for their famous chocolate chip cookies and came out with this instead.

someone loves her Zio

This is Friday night when we had just arrived to my parent's house and Olivia would not let go of her Zio Antonio. Now that is pure love.




Let's go Terps! Even my baby is showing love for my Alma Mater!