Monday, May 30, 2011

Avery at 5 months....

Again, this post is totally overdue as well but what can I say it has been a CRAZY month.

Avery is 5 months old, I am amazed at how fast time has gone and how it just feels as though we have always been a family of four.  Avery is growing like a weed and wears a few 9 month clothes but mostly wears all 12 month clothes.  Thank goodness I have a ton of clothes left from Jolie and my really good friend Jenn gives me all of her daughter's hand me downs because Avery is flying through clothes.  She barely even wore 6 months and other than little dresses and stuff she skipped over 9 months too.  She is so cute and chunky, I love it!!!

Avery has finally started sleeping through the night just before she turned 5 months old, that has been so nice.  She goes to bed about 8:30pm with a last bottle feeding in her room, I sit in her rocking chair that is in her room and after she finishes her bottle I rock her a little and then put her in her crib with her pacifier.  So far it is working great!  The only bad part is she doesn't want Rich to put her to bed, just me, she pitches a fit when Rich tries to feed her at night and put her to bed.  Avery is eating well as well, she eats squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, and peas so far and pretty soon we will start giving her some fruits.
Avery has found her feet and loves to play with them.  She also likes to play on the floor with her toys.  She is able to roll from back to front and front to back.  She grabs at everything including Mommy's hair, glasses, anything.


Jolie and Avery are the best of friends and super sweet on each other.  I love having my two girls and hope that they are the best of friends all their lives.


Jolie's Birthday Parties

I have been meaning to post the pictures from all of Jolie's Birthday Parties but have just now gotten the chance to finally do so, amazing what one day off will do for you!

Here are the pictures from her school Birthday Party, it was the morning of her actual Birthday on Monday, May 9th.
This is a picture of the Birthday Poster that Rich and I made for Jolie to take to school, they put it up in the classroom for all the children to look at the week of a Birthday and it shows Jolie at birth, at one, at two, at three, and of course some recent pictures of her at almost four.

This is Jolie and three of her friends from school.  Alex, Jolie, Laura, and Gabby.

This is Jolie with the globe getting ready to do her birthday walk.

Jolie going around the sun for her birthday walk.


This was Jolie after she ate cupcakes with her friends at school.  She had such a good time!!

Here is the Birthday girl at a small pizza party we had for her at my Mom and Dad's the night of her birthday.

 Mommy, Daddy, and Jolie with her Birthday cake.

 Jolie and Avery.

On Saturday, May 14th we had a big Birthday Party for Jolie at Chuck E. Cheese.  Here are all the pictures from that party.

Laura and Jolie

Lily, Jolie, Gracie, and Laura

Avery


All the kids eating pizza!



Daddy and Jolie


Mommy, Daddy, Jolie and Avery.

Jen and my friend Jenn.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Memorial Day Weekend

Let me first start off by saying how grateful Rich and I as well as our girls are for all the men and women who have given their lives in defense of the freedom we enjoy. I think sometimes I go about living my life and the hustle and bussle of everyday life that I forget about all the families who have sacrificed so much for me to enjoy my everyday life. I am truly grateful for all that has been done around the world and here on our own soil to ensure I have the right to speak and live freely. Just wanted to be sure that we remember what this weekend is truly about.

Now on to how we are celebrating this weekend....yesterday I did the normal Saturday stuff, some errands, some grocery shopping, some cleaning, and some cooking. After all that was done I took Jolie over to my friend Lori's house for a cookout Birthday Party for Lori. We had a great time as Lori had 17 kids there and hired a babysitter to watch all of them as they played in the pool and in the backyard and then even went over to the neighborhood park. It was nice as I got to visit with Lori, her husband Scott and a whole crew of their friends. Jolie had a blast playing with all the kids, especially Lori's daughter Jodi. Rich stayed home with Avery as the crowd was probably too much for both of them.

Today it is more of the same weekend stuff of cleaning and what not and then we are having my parents and mother-in-law over for a little family cookout. We are going to be doing the traditional grill out of BBQ ribs and corn, I am making a little salad and it should be a great time with family. I have the girls dressed up super cute red/white/blue so that is always fun, I promise to take pictures.....

Tomorrow is going to be about family time and relaxation and I am totally okay with that!!! I think we will do some swimming in the pool and that will be as exciting as it gets, which sounds GREAT!!!! I wish every week included a three day weekend!

Hope you and your family have a very happy Memorial Day Weekend and that no matter what you are doing to celebrate that you take a minute to remember what this weekend is really about!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

As I check on sleeping children....

Tonight I think I have a case of the over tired's....I know it is like my kids but I am so tired I can't sleep but I had a few random thoughts I figured I would just go ahead and blog them now. So here is my list of thoughts I had right after I checked on my beautiful, quiet, sleeping girls.

- as I just checked on both my girls peacefully sleeping safely in their rooms it dawned on me how all the hundreds of thousands of people in Middle America must feel tonight because they aren't check on their kids in their houses in their own beds. So many of them have lost everything they own and some have even lost their children or other members of their family. I just can't even imagine what they are going through. My heart breaks for these families and I pray for their safety as more storms come through the area and all the water settles. I told Rich the other night I couldn't imagine what these families are going through as we watched the Evening News.

- then probably equally as sad as I checked on my children this evening I thought of the Casey Anthony trial that is currently going on in Orlando. If you don't know about this trial you must be living under a rock as it took them weeks just to find a jury because everyone knew about it, not to mention they are televising every last detail on Tru TV and HLN. Anyways I digress, the reason I thought of it was I just can't buy into the craziness that is that trial. Supposedly Casey Anthony murdered her then 2, almost 3 year old daughter and then partied like a rockstar but now according to the Defense the little girl accidentally drowned and because the Mom (Casey Anthony) was sexually abused by her father and brother she got scared and covered everything up. I just can't buy how a mother that truly, loved and cared for her child can behave this way. It really makes me sad just thinking about it, as a Mother I just can't imagine all that anyone of them is selling. I think crazy stuff like that might be part of why I check on my kids 4-5 times a night while they are sleeping, just to know they are okay, it makes me feel better.

Good news, everyone in The Perillo House is sound asleep, that includes my wonderful husband, 2 beautiful daughters, 2 cats, and the dog, the only other person that should be sleeping but isn't is me although I am feeling tired now, so I think this is the end of this post so I can get some rest, night, night!!!!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

My poor little muffin....

My poor little 5 month old muffin officially has her first illness. After my Mom called me mid-morning yesterday saying Avery'seye looked really bad, she was fussy and my Mom really thought she had pink eye I decided a call to the pediatrian's office was in order. Avery has had tear duct issues in that eye since she was born so I really thought that was the problem but I made an afternoon appointment for her. My Mom and Dad took her to the doctor and it turns out she does have pink eye, poor muffin. It turns out because of her tear duct issues it makes her more prone to catching pink eye, so she is on eye drops four times a day for a week, that isn't too much fun but we are managing and she is already a little better this morning. My biggest fear is pink eye running wild through my house!!!! Will keep you posted on the adventures of a 5 month old with pink eye.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Busy little bees.....

So I just looked at the blog and realized it has been a full week since I updated or wrote anything and then I thought back to why that is and realized we have just been so busy for the entire month of May and most especially during the last 2 weeks.  So here is a little recap....

Last week Sunday, Monday and Tuesday Jolie was in Disney with Mom and Dad so that was great as we had a ton going on here.  I have been drowning in work, there is just so much going on and so much to do.  It is going into the "slow" season but that just means I have to work harder for less, sound fun right?  On top of that Rich is working hard to close out his school year and deal with 120 middle school children everyday who don't want to be at school because FCAT is over, so again a good time.

Then there is all the celebrations and fun family and friends things we have had going on.  Of course we all know Jolie turned 4 two weeks ago and that included a family party, a school party, and a big Chuck E. Cheese party (and I promise I will write a post about all that sometime soon because it really was fun).  Then of course last week Tuesday Avery turned 5 months old, wow, can't believe it, she is so big and rolls around like crazy and pushes up and is working on learning to sit.  So we officially have a moving child, there is no more set her down and she stays there, now you lay her down and she rolls where ever she wants to go.  She smiles and laughs like crazy which is totally fun and makes my heart swell with happiness!  The girls together are super cute but tons of work.  Everyone in our house eats different things at different times and I feel like s short order cook at night.  I did stop breast feeding/pumping on Mother's Day, that was the last day I pumped and after much emotional debate over it I feel really good with my decision.  I ha a freezer full of breast milk so she will be about 6 months old by the time we completely run out of breast milk and we have been mixing breast milk and formula getting her use to it and seems to be working out just fine.  Avery is a great eater and doesn't leave anything in the bottom of the bottle and can put away an entire stage 1 baby food jar.  But enough about all that, I will save the rest of Avery's milestones and updates for a 5 Month update that is almost a week over due but I swear I will get it done.

I have also had a ton of sorority stuff going on and phone calls and meetings and construction at the house so that has again filled my summer but it is going to be GREAT when completed and really be a lot of finishing details to all the work we did last summer, I will be glad when that is all finished it just makes for a lot of stress when I am not there to see that every detail is handled.

So again, we are busy little bees in the Perillo House but things start to calm down this week and then I am only a few weeks to a much needed vacation week in the middle of June!  Updates to follow, time permitting!

Monday, May 16, 2011

The Magic of Disney Lives On....

So below are the pictures I have gotten via text from my Mom of Jolie totally loving the magic of Disney World.  I remember being a 5 year old girl and going to Disney with my parents I hope that Jolie will look back on this trip with my parent's with the same fondness and joy as I do on one of my first trips to Disney.
This is Jolie yesterday on the bed of her hotel with the Mickey ears they made on the bed for her.

This is Jolie this morning at breakfast with Mickey, she is truly loving her expierence!  I talked to her several times today and you could just hear the joy in her voice!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Jolie Perillo, you just turned 4, now where are you going?

DISNEY WORLD!!!!

That's right, a very excited, very eager four year old is currently in a car with her Mimi and Poppy on her way to Walt Disney World. Jolie will be there with them until Tuesday staying in the Toy Story building of the All Star Movie Hotel and she couldn't be more excited!

This week I will be posting all about Jolie's forth birthday including several birthday celebrations. Here is to three days of just having one child and a crazy few days at work....

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Where did the time go? Jolie at 4 years old.

Yesterday was a wonderful day in the Perillo House as Jolie turned 4 years old!  I am just in awe and amazement at where the time has gone over the last 4 years and how big she has grown.  I have to say that she is truly a very special little girl.  Jolie is so smart and beautiful inside and out and I will forever be grateful that I was chosen to be her Mother.

Jolie,
I have watched you grow so much over the last four years, you have truly become one of the sweetest, funniest little girls I have ever seen.  You have a way of just drawing people in, you love to say hello to strangers as you pass them by whether that is at the store or just walking in the neighborhood.  You have the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen and I just look into them and can tell that you are special not only in the eyes of your Mom and Dad but in the eyes of God and that just makes me smile.  You have such a quest for knowledge and ask tons of questions as you try to figure things out for yourself.  I will forever cherish the moments your Dad and I spent with you as you were first born and we held you for the very first time, you were so beautiful and special then and nothing has changed except now you are big girl!  You amaze me everyday with all you know....you can count by yourself to about 100 (sometimes you forget a few numbers but that's okay), you know a ton of words in Spanish and are constantly asking Daddy and I to teach you more even though we don't always know ourselves, you know a TON of little songs and sing all the time, you just adore music, you color inside the lines on pictures amazingly well, you know all your shapes/colors and sounds and are starting to learn sight words for reading, you love books and like to "read" them by yourself which pretty much means you just tell your own story to the pictures which I have to say is so cute.  You love to play and you just play hard, you love to go outside and in the pool, your favorite place to go is to the Zoo with Poppy.  You love it when Mimi picks you up from school because you get to be a "3 o'clocker" which means you leave earlier than when your Daddy picks you up.  You love to ride in Mimi's car because she has a special Kid's Music CD that you love to listen to and sing a long with.

I just want you to always know that your Dad and I love you more than words can ever describe.  You make me laugh and smile constantly.  Yesterday you were so funny for your birthday when you told Daddy and I, "I am four now, I can do anything".  I think you are right, you can do anything and be anything you wish and you will forever have your biggest fans in your corner, Daddy and me!  Happy Birthday, my sweet baby!  I hate to see you grow up but I have sure loved watching you develop into your own person, I am so glad to be a part of your journey!

Love,
Mommy

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Mother's Day Weekend

My very special, very wonderful Mother'sDay weekend began Friday morning when I went to a little Mother's Day Bruch at Jolie's Pre-School, it was really sweet, they had some little foods out and the kids made the Mom's little gifts. She made me a little paper flower that was super cute as well as a really pretty wind chime. It was nice and she showed me around her classroom and her work that was on the walls. I also got a chance to meet some of her friend's Mothers that will be coming to her Birthday Party next weekend.

Then yesterday morning Rich sent for me for a wonderful manicure and pedicure, it was so nice and relaxing, I loved it! Then our parents watched the kids so Rich and I could go to Tampa Bay Downs for some local horse racing and to watch the Derby. We met up with some friends and had lovely cocktails and made horse bets and cheered on the races, it was really fun! I forgot to take pictures over the weekend but I will say my Derby outfit was amazing and so super cute! I might have had a few more drinks than needed but I stayed in control and it was fine. We went for a nice dinner after the races and it was so nice, Rich did an amazing job making yesterday very special for me and it totally was.

This morning, Rich and Jolie made me a wonderful breakfast of eggs and bacon and even served in bed with super cute cards and beautiful flowers, it really was so sweet of them. The breakfast was really good, which actually surprised me since Rich doesn't cook often. After breakfast Rich took care of the kids so I could just lay around in bed and take a little nap, it was honestly awesome! Now both kids are napping and Rich is with is Mom. Once the girls wake up we are off to hang with my Mom and Grandma and then eat dinner, it sure has been a great day!

Tomorrow is a super huge day as Jolie turns 4 years old! It is hard to believe that my little muffin has gone from that gorgeous little baby to a smart and active and still beautiful 4 year old, amazing! Will post this week all about Jolie's Birthday!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Rich and I got a date day today at Tampa Downs for the local races and the Derby and it was an amazing day!!

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Our Weekend Away....

So now that we are back I will share that we went away for the weekend.  I don't like saying we are going anywhere until we are back because you never know who is reading and watching what we are doing but we went to the beach this weekend for the first time as a family of four, plus we took my mother in law with us as well.  So Rich, my MIL, and the kids went down Friday afternoon because I had to work Friday night, I went down after my tasting.  Friday night Rich sent me the below picture in an e-mail from his blackberry as they were gathering shells on the beach, she really liked that and we have a whole Ziploc bag to show for it.
Then Saturday morning we got all the beach gear packed up and Rich and I braved taking 2 children to the beach alone, I have to say we did an amazing job!  Although it felt as though we had to pack half of our house to go to the beach and half of what we took to the condo to be able to go to the beach, that part was exhausting for both Rich and I.  Here is a picture of Avery's first beach trip and then below that is a picture of both girls.



The pictures below are of Jolie and Rich playing at the Beach on Saturday morning, they both had a great time building sand castles and digging in the sand.  I have to say that the weather for the weekend was amazing, it was even a little cool in the mornings and evenings and wasn't super hot in the middle of the day.




After a morning spent at the beach with both the girls we came back to the condo, got some Chic-fil-a lunch, ate and then we ALL took a nap!  Even Avery who normally isn't a very good nap taker, took an almost 2 hour nap, it was AMAZING because Mommy actually got a nap too, that was awesome!  After great naps we all went out to the pool for a while, below are some of the pictures of Avery's first trip to the pool.




Saturday night we ordered some takeout and then had a family walk up to get some ice cream, that was fun!  Then it was back to the condo and we put the kids to bed.  I have to say a vacation with 2 small children really isn't a vacation.  Sunday morning I took Jolie out to the pool for about an hour, we cleaned up the condo, packed up, and headed home in time to make it home to eat a quick lunch and for the kids to get nap time.  So currently the kids are both sleep and so is Rich!  We have started laundry and I am about to start cleaning my house and making my grocery list.  So it is back to the norm around here, this afternoon it will be clean, shop, clean, shop, and not fun shopping grocery and household supply shopping.  But at least we got a little get away in as a family.  Rich and I were able to squeeze in a beer together on the couch of the condo on Friday night so it was kind of like a date, it was just him and I in the room, does that count??