It's been awhile...Sofia the photog

Sofia loves taking pictures and will go a whole afternoon with the little point and shoot in her hands snapping up everything in sight. Literally. Here are just some from the 100s she's taken in the past few months.

Tickle monster daddy!

Pirate mommy!

What's a collection of pictures without her own foot?

Yes, I do windows. Grateful Sofia captured that moment.

Intense over the game on their camera.

Silly little girl. And just a bit OCD too...love their sets layout on the floor.

Mani/Pedi time with mommy. I should start making them do my nails too.

Another must in her pictures...Legopini but this time all dressed up.

Red

Just a little bit of red from around our home...some Valentine's Day decor, pillows, Sofia's artwork and the top left is our new red in the red room just freshly painting. It's actually called Cherry Tart and the beige/cream is called Egg White. Yes, sometimes I do select my paint choices from their names.

From Pinterest to Real Life - Rocky Road Brownies

Just another sweet recipe found on the world of Pinterest. I didn't think it was possible, but I think I used too many marshmallows and not enough mini-chocolate chips. Here is where to find the recipe that I didn't follow to a 'T' but they came out delicious anyway!

It's a shame the second child gets zero attention

When I was pregnant the second time around, I was so aware of the amount of time I would get one-on-one with each of the kids. Meaning, the little time I would be able to devote to either because now there were two. Two of everything to do now and only two hands to do it all with. I was worried Sofia would feel neglected now having to share the spotlight and that bambino (bambina as it turned out for us) #2  would receive less one-on-one since I had another person that needed more of my attention. Sofia was only just 2 when Olivia came along meaning not yet in preschool, not completely potty-trained and still not an independent toddler. I mean she was 2, a baby still herself.

So we went along and did our best to give Sofia the attention we thought she needed more at that time, Olivia was an awesome newborn and infant and made it easier for us to be able to do things with Sofia. Olivia was happy to be in the carrier, stroller, a bouncy chair or even just laying next to us on the floor while we played games with Sofia, helped her with her letters, shapes and colors, etc. But I still worried that because Olivia was the second out (the girls define themselves like this - Sofia says she came out first and Olivia second), that she would feel sad to not have that one-on-one like Sofia did. In reality though, she didn't know any different so I don't think it's made the impact that I so worried about in the beginning.

These days with Sofia in Kindergarten 5 days, two of those days being full days, Olivia has me all to herself. Or at least when she's not in her own pre-school class two mornings a week. Still, there is a lot of time during the week when it's just Olivia and I at the house, running errands, or spending time with friends. She misses Sofia and asks about her from time to time during the days, especially the full days without her big sister around, but I feel like she totally digs it too. It's like she knows that Sofia had her time with me and now she's getting it too.

And I feel great having this special one-on-one time with her. I'm not ready to rush this time with her since I didn't rush it those first few years of Sofia's life. This Fall, she will be in pre-school only 3 mornings a week and Sofia will be in First Grade and YIKES! 5 Full Days!!! My big girl gone from the house for all those hours Monday thru Friday! That's for a whole other post though. This one is devoted to Olivia Maria.

What I'm reading now...

Love moments such as this one...finding the girls in one of the two little reading alcoves I've created in their bedroom. We have a ton of books and thankfully, the girls love "reading" and being read to. Sofia has begin reading on her own, a word or two and even sentences. It's adorable. And kind of scary too. When Anthony and I are talking about ordering pizza on a night I don't feel like cooking, spelling it out is no longer an option.

But thanks to my love of reading and willing to read anything once, I'm onto my first book of the New Year, The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown. Found out about this book through GoodReads when I noticed that it popped up on a couple friends' lists of books they had read and rated it decently. And I'm all about reading books about sisters since I have two little girls, I feel like it may help understand their personalities, relationship with one another and how they view themselves. Who knows. Like I said, I'll read anything once. I'll let you know how it goes!

My little fashionista

Not sure if she's going to make this trendy or not, but she was sure proud of herself pulling her socks over her skinny jeans. Yes, my 3 year old has skinny jeans. Like mother, like daughter. 

Mommy's Morning Out

Last weekend I had the pleasure of going out for a morning with my girlfriend Maria and thoroughly enjoyed every minute. We headed into Philadelphia's Little Italy which is only a few shops and restaurants but I'll take it. Shopping, chatting and brunching...Oh my! She introduced me to a fabulous kitchen store and spice shop that I already can't wait to get back to and show Anthony. Finally, I get to show him something of the city from where he's lived his whole life!

Sleeping beauty

I have this thing with taking pictures of everything and of course a sleeping little girl is high on that list of favorite things to snap away. I call this "the pensive sleeper."

How I chose to end and start my year...

Last night we had my mother-in-law over for a simple dinner of lentils and pork loin on the grill followed by a no-bake pumpkin pie, some fruit and hazelnuts and walnuts. Afterwards we watched the girls play with their legos and then it was time for a movie. Nonna Maria wasn't able to stay for the whole movie but it was a nice night for the girls just the same. Before they went to bed we cuddled up on the couch and by the light of our Christmas tree, we read some books. Girls went to bed and Anthony and I relaxed by watching a movie and only after having heard some fireworks going off outside, did I think to look at a clock to see the time. Midnight. 2012 was over, time for 2013 to begin. We finished our movie and in no time we were asleep ourselves.

The weeks leading up to Christmas and New Years were filled with so much, more than we could imagine. Get-togethers with friends, special activities for the holiday, lots of baking, shopping, wrapping and decorating...oh my! Last night was just what we needed and a perfect send-off to a wonderful year. I love to host friends and family, hang out and do just as much as the next go-getter, but sometimes momma just needs a night off. And so does the rest of the family.

This morning was perfect too. We stayed in our pjs just about all day, read books, played with toys and just hung out. Although I'm already planning things into the coming weeks, sometimes it's good to just sit back and not do a thing too. Even on a day when it's typical to be doing something. I'd like to think of it as taking the holiday off. That's what we needed and just what we did.

Hope you all had a great New Year's. Whether you were out partying like a rock star or you gave yourself a much-needed break from everything and called it a day.