May 2, 2004

Time for work!

Isabella's Update Isabella's three now. Can you believe it? We can't. She's just as happy as a child can be... Constantly singing, dancing, playing the guitar or keyboard and makes friends easily. We're looking at preschools (yes, late, I know) and will hopefully find something soon. She loves playing with other kids, and is having a lot of fun entertaining herself, as well. She's quite inventive with the songs and stories she makes up and plays out. She got an easel for her birthday, and has been going crazy painting new things for us on a regular basis. She's also getting pretty independent. She insists on doing everything herself - everything from pouring new paint in the pots to pouring her own cereal and milk! No, we haven't been without big messes from it! She also loves helping Mommy cook. "Can I help stir? I promise, I won't touch the stove. I very promise!" Daddy's been teaching her letters lately, and she's been making good progress. She now screams "I see a B!!" (her favorite letter) as we're driving down the road. She is most definitely a Daddy's girl. She watches (and plays) baseball with him, plays the guitar with him, and has developed a love of taking walks with Daddy, not to mention playing on the beach. Every once in a while she lets Mommy join too. It's an absolute joy watching her grow, even if it is challenging trying to keep up!

Happy News! Isabella has an announcement for those of you who haven't heard. She's going to be a big sister in September! She even got to call the grandparents and tell them! Of course, there was some translation from "Bellanese" necessary for some. She is very excited and can't wait until the little one gets here. She sings and tells stories to the baby, and tells him how much she loves him. Yes, according to the ultrasound, it's pretty clearly a boy. :) We know better than to hold our breath on it, but the ultrasound tech said it's about as obvious a view as we could possibly get! It's like the baby was sitting on a glass table and you were looking up at it. A little bottom, two little legs, and a tiny willy in between. Too cute. ;-) Isabella wasn't terribly thrilled about the baby brother news, though. She quickly informed me "No, Mommy, I already told you. It's going to be a GIRL baby!" Whew, good thing she's got a few months to get used to the idea! Mommy's belly is growing much more quickly this time around. At the halfway point, it's already about as big as it was around 6 or 7 months last time. Sigh. Luckily, there's no morning sickness, so I guess it balances out! Keeping up with a very active three year old has been challenging, but Bella's a very good helper, and has thankfully started taking afternoon naps again! Woo hoo!

A boy?!

January 8, 2004

Peekaboo!!

Isabella's Update Ok, Isabella is nearly THREE years old now!! How in the world did that happen? Mommy needs to figure out how to throw a real birthday party for a toddler. The last two have been quiet evenings at home, so I got off really easy. Bella is an absolute riot. You've got to hear her tell the story of the Three Little Pigs. You never know what's going to happen! She had a wonderful time playing in the snow (that was up to her hips), and has really enjoyed all the new toys she got over the holidays. Everybody went a little overboard, but what the heck, that's what kids are for. I know, the spoilage will start to stink after a while, but she's really a great kid, and so sweet tempered! She loves her music class, and playing at the gym. She's been begging me to let her go to school, so I guess I get to start researching preschools for summer / fall (and with my luck, I'm already too late as it is). :) She is the biggest socialite you've ever seen in an almost-three year old. She makes friends with everyone, and they all love her back. It's really fun to watch! She's a lot more fun to talk on the phone with now, too.

Blizzard!! We got nearly two feet of snow over one weekend - December13-14. The average snowfall for December is 6 inches! The weathermen all told us to stay inside, but did we listen? Heck no. We had social events to attend! Our friends Maurizio (Mo) and Raffaella were visiting from Milan and staying with Wayne and Helen, so we had to go see them! Driving wasn't so bad in my 4-wheel drive 4-Runner, but we had to dig it out 3 times in one day! And of course, shovelling all the snow just to get to the car was a challenge, too. :) We're settling into our house, and it's finally feeling like home. We're slowly adding new pieces of furniture and decor, and it's obviously helping it feel more like ours. Now if only we could get our acts together and (patch and sand and) paint! The weather has been around 20 degrees for the last few days, and I'm really starting to notice the places that need extra weatherstripping or something. These drafts aren't going to do any favors for our heating bills. I feel a Honey-Do list coming on!

Um, Mom? How am I supposed to walk in this?