Busily growing...

As if yesterdays celebration of her first solid meal wasnt enough, last night Sicilya decided it was time to sleep through the night!  we put her to bed around 945pm and she didnt wake up until 7am - thats 10 hours!!  and better yet, after i fed her at 7am, we laid her back in her bed to change her diaper, she chatted with her crib toys for a few minutes and fell back to sleep!  its nearly 10am now and she hasnt made a sound! 

But yesterday also seemed to prove reason for all this time spent sleeping - she is growing like a weed!  within the past week i have cleared all of her 0-3mo clothes out of her dressers and replaced them with 3-6 or just 6mo clothes.  while at kohls yesterday, i bought her an adorable one piece outfit, size 6mo.  i debated the 9mo one, but settled on the 6mo figuring there was no way it wouldnt be a bit big itself...wrong!  i got it home and tried it on her, something i have never done with the kids as babies before, and it just fit!  it might fit for the month or so, but there is now way it will fit through the fall and into the winter!  so i will be taking it back today and exchanging it for the next size up - which is just crazy to me!  

Sicilya has a doctors appointment next week wednesday, where we will find out her current height and weight - i cant wait to see where her numbers come in at, she doesnt seem to be anywhere near as big as Tuscan was at this age - but it sure will be fun to compare!

                  if she can get it in her hands, she doesnt hesitate to stick it right into her mouth!!

                                           

breakfast time!!

At Sicilya's 7 week doctor appointment, her pediatrician told us we could start cereal within a few weeks if we were interested.  At 7 weeks, i felt like i didnt want to rush things!  we have known all along that we want to wait as long as possible to introduce formula, mainly because i dont want a reason to become lazy about nursing and pumping.  Sicilya is my last chance for nursing my babies, something that i have always truly enjoyed and i want to take advantage of my ability for as long as i possibly can.  But, now that i am back to work and she isnt in LOVE with her bottles, we figured it was a great time to introduce something else into her diet.  so today was her first experience with cereal!  and she LOVED it.  she didnt even make a face!  frank and i of course made a big to-do about it, we were all excited, expected a big mess because she would be spitting it out and rubbing it all over her face - well we were way off!  she ate every bite in her bowl, she loved it so much we made her another bowl, just to use up the little bit of milk that was left in the bottle...and she ate all that too! 



so at least now we have an understanding as to why she was eyeballing our food so intently - she wanted to try the whole eating thing for herself!!  i become more and more amazed everyday with how quickly she is growing up.  she is such a gift, a true miracle...our families completeness!



3 beautiful months...

it is amazing to me that we have already reached this milestone.  the past three months have just flown by.  as much as i love watching Sicilya grow and develop everyday, it also makes me a bit sad that she has to do it all so quickly.  in just the blink of an eye she has gone from being this tiny, helpless newborn to a little girl with sparkly eyes, two dimpled in her big grin and a mellow personality that really makes her, the BEST baby ever!   

just 3 short months ago, she was so small that we had a hard time dressing her.  nothing fit right and we were afraid of breaking her little arms while trying to get them in the sleeves of her shirt!  for weeks, all she did was eat and sleep.  she made no eye contact, there were no real facial expressions and she really required no entertaining.  newborn diapers fit for the first 5 or so weeks and even newborn clothes were something we scrounged through her dressers for.

now just a mere 3 months later everything has changed!!  she has grown in such amazing ways and continues to make us feel more and more blessed as the days go by.  she makes eye contact not only with us, but she has also found her hands and feet and she loves to "socialize" with the bunny on her bouncy seat and the fish on her swing!  she has a tendancy to get irritated when they dont respond to her, but that just lets me know its a good time to intervene and take advantage of her social moments myself!  she loves listening to the music on her mobile in her crib, just laying there watching eeyore and his friends circle by overhead. 

her smiles have become something of a regular occurance and no matter how many times a day we get the chance to see it, each and every time i find my smile growing bigger and bigger looking back at her.  her two little dimples and the sparkle in her eye, she is such a happy and content little girl!  holding her in my arms and having her smile back at me is such great therapy, she really has a way of relieving the tension that this crazy life sometimes carries with it!

in just the last few weeks we decided it was time for Sicilya to start sleeping in her own crib.  we knew the time would come eventually and with me going back to work, it just seemed right.  we didnt want my alarm clock to wake her up when i get up!  and just as we suspected, she made the transition so simply!!  changing beds and bedrooms did not inturrupt her sleeping pattern at all, thankfully!!  she still wakes up sometime between 2am-3am, she eats for a few minutes and then goes right back to bed without any fuss until close to 8am, almost everyday!  she is the first of our babies that we have been able to simply lay in her bed, with the music from her little pink seahorse playing and she falls asleep on her own.  we really are so blessed!

she quickly went through the size 1 diaper phase!  they lasted for less time than the newborns i think. we are using up what we have with the size 1-2's ready for a quick swap and the 2's will be following quickly behind im sure!  she has grown so much in length and weight in just the last 5 weeks, its amazing!  her chunky little thighs are so cute, she has actually developed a triple roll behind her knees!!

we have reached that time when we have to wear all the favorite outfits "just one more time" as she is quickly growing out of her 0-3 month wardrobe!  and that is very bittersweet for me. knowing she is our final chapter in the baby section of our life, i know i dont have any reason to hang on to her clothes as she grows out of them.  but to just get rid of them all seems so final!  many of them i dont feel much attachment to because we were so fortunate to have been given so much.   but some of the cutest ones, i think ill have to hold on to!!  i can hope that maybe some of the dresses and fancier outfits will fit her dolls, right?  at least from this first round of clothes!

in the last three months, here are some of the things that Sicilya has either done or experienced:

 - her first week, she had 2 doctor appts in 3 days, where she gained 2oz! she visited mommy and nonna's works and made an appearance at her brothers preschool, she was visited by her great grandma, met the neighbors and she slept through a lunch at chipotle with mommy, nonna and her 3 brothers!

 - she has been in attendence at not just one, but both of our churches almost every sunday.

 - Sicilya has been to 3 parades, a dog birthday party, several bbq's, a surprise 8th birthday party, 2 preschool graduations, several dinner dates and has had a few sleepovers at Nonna and Poppa's house (with mommy and daddy of course!)

 - she has had her first photo shoot with jess, and they both did an amazing job, capturing all the newborn baby features that i never want to forget.  she also enjoyed her first bubble tea with jess and i and her three brothers!

 - for two weekends in her first 3 months, she has been amazingly content during two loooong weekend yardsales.

 - she has experienced her first trips to the Buffalo Zoo and the local library

 - she has been strawberry and blueberry picking...and although she hasnt been able to taste the "fruits of her labor" yet, she will be able to enjoy them in a few more months, fresh from the freezer!

 - Sicilya has gotten her ears pierced and received her first gift of jewelry (a pink and silver beaded bracelet) from the girls across the street.

 - she has been to the drive in movie theater and gone swimming in a big pool and experienced a lunch and river walk at mississippi mudds....some summertime traditions!

 - she has gone from sponge baths, to baby bath tub baths...with a few bubble baths with mommy in between!

 - she has been successful, not only at nursing, but she has also learned to be accepting of her meals from a bottle.

 - she has been left with a sitter, twice - our cousin Debbie and my Gram.

 - she has also been a "toy tester" for fisher price, twice!

 - Sicilya has also been on her first road trip, to Ohio, slept in a hotel, visited the Cleveland Zoo and attended her Grandpa Frank's wedding!

what can i say, she really has been a busy little girl...and she's only 3 months old! i can only imagine what our future has in store. and i cant wait. i cant wait to see what the coming days... weeks... months will be filled with.  since having Sicilya and having a chance to be home with my kids for a few months, with nothing else to worry about, i have learned a bit about myself.  i have realized that my priorities are pretty near to where they should be, much of the time. i have learned to just sit and watch my kids play in the yard, to listen to the sounds of their laughter and their brotherly banter.  i have learned that God is the center of my life, moreso than i had realized.  i have learned that money can not bring half the amount of joy into my life that my family does.  i now know that i could be very content as a stay at home mom. 

Sicilya is a lifelong dream come true...and dont get me wrong, my boys are my blessings just the same...but i dreamed of having a daughter my whole life and with 3 boys before her, i was losing hope!  but God has a plan for me and so far His plan has been pretty amazing.  i am so blessed.

to my sweet Sicilya,

i always dreamed of having a baby girl but i never could have imagined it would bring me such a sense of purpose and feeling of contentment. you have changed my life in ways you may never understand. you have solidified my beliefs in ways i may never understand.  you are a blessing beyond measure, created by the hands of God and the love of your mommy and daddy...i look forward to everyday!

 millions baby girl,

  ~ mommy

my super hero...

like many girls, i have always had one man in my life who has always been a constant, whom i have always looked up to.  the one man i know i can call no matter what the situation may be, no matter what time of day, someone i can always count on.  i know he will never judge, never criticize and always do what he can to help.  he is a man who has always found it easier to express his love with helpful advice and a helping hand, rather than the more emotional things in life.  but for that very reason, i have grown up believing him to be solid as a rock, there is very little that can break him down, and even less that will keep him down.  that man is my dad, my super hero...my invinsible one.

well today my dad sits broken, physically, in a hospital bed.  and that very fact fills me with so much joy because to be broken, means he is still alive.  i still have time to count on him, to hug him, to thank him for all he has done and continues to do in my life. 

my dad was in a motorcycle accident last night.  he crashed into the side of a car, driven by a man who wasnt paying attention.  my dad had no time to react and knew exactly what was happening to him before it even happened. 

he and beth were on their way home from Gowanda Harley Davidson, they were picking the bike up after having it in the shop for a week getting some repairs done on it.  less than 10 minutes from their house, my dad was approaching a right hand turn, where the two vehicles ahead of him were turning, he slowed down behind them..and beth was just a few seconds behind him.  she saw the whole thing happen.  she saw the black car blow through the stop sign, she saw my dads bike crash into the cars left front fender.  she saw my dad fly acrobat style over the top of the car.  the next thing she saw after putting her car in park, was my dad laying on his side in the middle of the road.  he wasnt moving, he wasnt making any noise, she really couldnt even tell if he was breathing. 

all the meanwhile, she had been dialing my phone number, the first thing i hear when i answered the phone was "bri, stay with us!"  she was frantic...my heart sunk.  the rest became much of a blur for both of us i think.  in a matter of moments, she was surrounded by witnesses and police. i had called frank, who left work and headed straight to the scene.  my neighbors came over to keep an eye on the kids until i figured out what i was going to do and where i needed to be. 

after much to do, my dad was taken by ambulance to ECMC, where he sat in the ER until nearly 7am this morning. the guy who pulled out in front of him was sent off with a citation - "failure to yeild to the right of way"...

after multiple CT scans, it was determined (thankfully) that there was no internal bleeding, there was no brain or spinal injuries...what he does have is his life, 3 broken ribs and a broken pelvis.  no fun, for sure...painful, without a doubt...but he is alive, he will recover and someday this will be just a memory.  surgery is not completely ruled out at this point, but the good news is, if they do operate it will only be to help his recovery.  surgery may enable him to get up and out of bed and moving around a bit sooner.  so we wait.  we wait and see what the doctors recommend and what decisions are made from that point on. 

i went to see my dad this morning, when i picked beth up to bring her home.  she needed to pack up some stuff for the two of them and make the necessary phone calls before she headed back.  but i have to admit, i was scared.  i cried most of the way to the hospital, partly because i was scared but mostly because he is alive.  i am so grateful that his injuries are so 'minor'.  God has such a way of being so wonderful in even the scariest of situations. 

i know it will be a slow process, but my super hero will be back soon enough.  taking my boys for rides on the John Deere (a much safer man toy in my opinion!), helping and teaching frank to do work on our cars, offering me words of wisdom and financial advice and finishing up the work on the house of his dreams.  i pray not only for a speedy recovery, but for my dad to have a chance to see life through a different perspective.  i pray that he lives life for today and stops worrying about what he "should have/could have" done.  he is and always has been such a wonderful man, a loving provider, a hard worker.  now i think its time he sit back and enjoy the fruits of his labor.  enjoy the many blessings surrounding his life.  enjoy the opportunities to do the finishing work on his house, to be grateful for the chance to do these things himself and be proud of it.  life is much to short to be anything less than happy! 

thank you to everyone who has been praying for him and our family in the last (nearly) 24 hours.   there are a lot of details that will take a while to unfold regarding so many aspects of this situation, so the continue of prayers is very grateful!  i will keep you all as updated as i can, with as many details as i know.  and if there any ways that "help" can be accepted, i will be sure to let those who have offered the details of those situations as well! 

and for now, my dad will rest and heal and gain an understanding of what it means to do "nothing"!  in time he will again be my rock solid super hero, but this time, i may be encouraging him to reveal his softer core!  i love you dad and thanks for the scare - i know now that i need to "bother" you during the day with the most random of phone calls, just to know i have heard your voice one more time.

summer traditions...

in just the last few years i have become a fan of summertime farmers markets!  nothing beats fresh produce and i am all about supporting the locals.  so today the kids and i packed up and headed out to the market in North Tonowanda, with the neighbors.  it was a first time visit for all of us and i know for sure, frank and i will be heading back before the season is over!!  we got some great stuff for very reasonable prices.  although the next time we go, it will have to be on a saturday morning - it may be crowded, but i hear there are many more vendors on thursdays and saturdays! 

after the market we headed over to mississippi mudds for some hotdogs and ice cream.  that has been a summer tradition of mine since i was a kid, so its always fun to be able to share that with the boys and by next summer Sicilya will be able to enjoy the tradition as well!!  we walked off lunch along the river. the water was so calm and relaxing...and as usual the boys thoroughly enjoyed the company of the girls across the street, as much as i enjoyed some adult conversation with their mom - aka, my BNF - best neighbor friend (according to her fiance!)

if only summer could last more than a mere 4 months around here....

we then eneded the evening with a delicious trip to bubble tea, where we met up with Jess!  the boys were a little rowdy when we first got there, but considering they downed their passion fruit bubble tea in under 10 minutes, i guess i shouldnt have been surprised - thats a lot of sugar!!  amidst several trips to the bathroom, jess and i were able to get caught up a bit on our crazy summer and enjoy each others company...and of course, relish in Sicilya's first trip to bubble tea!!