March for Babies

The girls and I participated in the March of Dimes' March for Babies Sunday.
It's my 18th year being a part of it. And I think it's important to start kids out at an early age thinking about people beyond themselves.
Sophia was excited about "walking for charity." Although, she did ask me a few times where "charity" was.
She loved the clown, the balloon rainbow and the music they had at the check-in site. And she LOVED the free snacks and water they handed out along the route. That girl loves free stuff!
We made the 5-mile trip in about 1.5 hours, which I don't think is bad considering I was pushing a double stroller the whole way and this city has far more hills than I realized! Sophia also walked on her own for a half hour, then her little legs got tired so she got back into the stroller for some snacks and a little "I Spy."
The walk was right around Gianna's nap time, so she slept most of the event.
All in all, it was a great day -- sunshine, fresh air, exercise and helping babies.

Warm sunshine

Saturday was gorgeous -- high 80 degree temps in the middle of April!
So, we dug out the summer clothes and headed outside for most of the day.
Sophia loved it because she could eat a popsicle and wear a skirt without tights. (That's a big day in the world of a 3-year-old!)
Gianna loved exploring the backyard. She's no longer leery of the grass, so she's unstoppable. She loves to taste everything back there -- leaves, pine cones, grass. I even caught her chewing on the head of a dandelion. She really must be Italian ;)
And the girls love playing in the sandbox. Gianna is good for the most part. She's only eaten a little bit of the sand -- she licks it off her palm or gets it in her mouth when she's sucking her thumb. Sophia is a good big sister, and tells Gianna "That's not good. We don't eat sand."

A little bike riding

The weather has been beautiful the last few days, so we've spent quite a bit of time outside.
On Friday, Sophia really wanted to ride her bike. So she strapped on her helmet and stuffed a baby in the "trunk" and took off down the driveway.
She has gotten so good at pedaling the bike this year. Last year, she refused to pedal and instead pushed off on the driveway to move. Now, she rides like a big girl.

Sisterly love

We are very lucky -- Sophia and Gianna adore each other.
They love to play together and give each other snuggles. And Sophia loves that Gianna is finally able to give real kisses.
They are just too sweet!

Gianna's 11 months

Gianna turned 11 months Tuesday. I'm not quite sure how that happened -- time goes by too fast.
She is such a beautiful, happy little girl. She also has a serious, contemplative side like her Daddy.

A dinner request

I had a meeting this afternoon, so I dropped the girls off to help Daddy teach his ninth-period class. (Sophia had a ball. She manned the light switch while Daddy operated the projector. Gianna wowed everyone with her beautiful smile.)
My meeting got out late, so we decided to pick up dinner. George and I opted to order pizza. Sophia overheard us, and said "No, I want chicken."
Chicken, really?
So I told her we'd order wings. "No, I don't want wings. I want chicken." Followed by an explanation that chicken wings are in fact chicken.
"No, chicken that's big. And looks like this (she makes a circle with her hands.)"
"Fingers?"
"No. Chicken! (and she again makes the apparent symbol for chicken -- a circle with her hands)."
I stare at her.
"Chicken. Like in my fridge. It looks like this. Chicken!"
Chicken, in her play fridge. Hmm. I'm drawing a blank.
"Chicken. I want chicken. Like in my fridge. It looks like this. You eat it like this (she holds it up to her mouth like she's eating a drumstick). It has a bone in it. It's chicken."
Then, a lightbulb goes on. She has a fake drumstick with a fake bite taken out of it. It's in her play kitchen. She has never actually eaten fried chicken.
She's excited that I have some idea of what she's talking about.
After a few seconds of mentally planning our trip home, I remember there's a KFC that I can make on our way.
I pull into the drive-thru. Ask if they take credit and am told that they do but the machine might be down.
I place my order for one drumstick. KFC lady: "One drumstick. Really?"
Me: "Yes. My daughter REALLY wants one."
KFC lady: "$1.81, please pull ahead."
I scrounge through my pockets, the change tray, the floor and find $1.12. I hope that either the credit machine is working or the KFC lady takes pity on me and cuts me a deal on one drumstick. Or I will have a very disappointed little girl.
Good news - the machine is working.
I hand Sophia the bag. She beems and starts cheering, "chicken! chicken!"
I feel like the world's greatest mom.
Then, Sophia opens the bag. She looks at the chicken. "Mom, this chicken has a bone in it! How do I eat it?"

The angry monster

Sophia has a doll house -- big, pink, girly and fun -- which she got for her birthday from Gramma. She absolutely loves it and plays with it every day -- while Gianna is napping.
This is a stipulation because
1) It's full of choking hazards.
2) It's Sophia's absolute favorite toy and she is not a fan of Gianna's drool all over the family members, plants, furniture, pets, food, car ....

Even with this rule, Gianna has been known to reach her arm through the windows, grab the mom and suck on her long locks. (Igniting laughter or screams from her big sis.)
Well today, Sophia convinced us to let her get the dollhouse out before Gianna's nap. The two were playing nicely until many household items got shoved into the little one's mouth.
Sophia grabbed the family and put them in the front yard where she had them carrying on quite the little conversation (complete with different voices for each person).
I grabbed Gianna to take her up for her nap. As we were headed up the stairs, Dollhouse Daddy said, "Don't worry kids, we can open the door soon. The angry monster is headed upstairs."

Our trip to the zoo

Yesterday was a beautiful spring day, so we and some friends -- Mary Beth, Peter, Allie and Ryan -- went to the zoo.

The kids loved seeing all the animals. They especially loved being outside in the sunshine and spending time with each other. And Ryan liked making Gianna smile.
(I really like the polar bear photo. With four kids, it's impossible to get everyone looking at the same camera. Allie knows the drill, so she's ready with a smile. But I love how Ryan is pretending to have his hand eaten by the bear while Gianna strokes the bear's fur. And Sophia, well, she may be hiding, trapped or just a 3-year-old.)

Gianna's favorite toy

It seems that no matter how many toys we buy our children, they like to play with random household items -- pots and pans, boxes, etc.
Gianna loves laundry baskets. She's been using one as a walker for months now and recently discovered that she can get inside it.

We're a musical family

Sophia and Gianna love making music and we have a box full of instruments for their jam sessions.
Today, Sophia manned the mike (and the golf club while wearing a princess dress and rollerskates. And did I mention she wore that dress to Wegmans?).
Gianna tried her hands at the double-egg shaker and the xylophone, which she had to play standing up.

Our new blog

I've decided to create a blog as a way to keep everyone updated on our beautiful little girls.
They grow and change every day and with our hectic schedules, it's tough to send out e-mails and photos as often as I should.
I'm hoping this will help.