Memorial Day weekend

This Memorial Day weekend was wonderful! On Saturday morning, Gabriella and I met up with Diane to swing by a yard sale and check out Old Navy's 50% off sale. We were mildly successful at both- I bought Gabriella a Little Tykes t-ball set (because clearly we needed another plastic outdoor toy) but it was only $3 so I grabbed it. 

Bob and Alyssa came into town to visit for the weekend and they came over for a little while to check out some of the baby gear we have and pick up some hand-me-downs. Gabriella obviously doesn't really understand that she'll have a new cousin this fall but we told her a thousand times that Alyssa has a baby in her belly:) 

As fun as shopping with Diane was and seeing Bob and Alyssa was, the absolute highlight of Saturday was Gianni coming home! The driver pulled up around 4:30 or so and Gabriella was more excited than I've ever seen. She had the biggest smile and wouldn't leave Gianni's side all evening. She is such a Daddy's girl!

On Sunday my parents had a lunchtime BBQ and we all went. Sandy, Thierry, and Ben came up as well so it was a full house. It's not that often that everyone was together so we had a blast. Gabriella and Ben enjoyed their baby pool and all the attention they were getting:)

Needless to say, Gabriella slept very well that night!! 

We thought Memorial Day was going to be a wash out but the rain moved out mid morning and our town's parade was still on. Gianni marched with the the volunteer fire department and we are so proud of him! 

After the parade his station hosted a BBQ and it was great to meet other families. Gabriella ran around with some other girls and got to sit in the driver's seat of the fire truck. Basically her day could not have been any better:) 

I hope you had a great weekend as well! 

xo,

Mary

Five on Friday!

TGIF! Especially because we've been counting down the days until Gianni gets home. He flies back tomorrow and I can't wait to see how excited Gabriella is to see him. Every morning she runs down the hallway back to our room and bangs on the door, calling for him. We've been able to FaceTime a couple of times but his schedule and the 6 hour time difference is hard. But he'll be back soon! 

1. This weather!

Hello, summer! This week has been HOT. We've been playing outside and enjoying the sunshine. Gabriella is obsessed with everything outside and it's been a lot of fun watching her explore. She loves chipmunks and will pick up the down spout that they love to hide in and yell in it for the "hip-ink". 

Sunscreen has been the biggest challenge- getting Gabriella to stay still and cover every inch of exposed skin is not the easiest task. I don't think they make spray-on that is safe for toddlers so if anyone has any tips or a sunscreen that you love, let me know:) 

2. Play date 

We had a fun play date with some friends this week! Through the library programs we've become friends with 2 other families who also have little girls who are 19-20 months old. They are adorable together! 

3. Smoothies 

I've been on a smoothie kick recently for breakfast and Gabriella loves them as well. Our favorite combo is ice, water, berries, spinach, a small bit of agave nectar, 1/4 avocado, and banana. 

And because she's a toddler, she prefers (aka demands) to drink it from a glass with a straw like Mom. And yes, the glass in the above picture is from a holiday gift set and says "Johnny Walker" on the side. Mom of the year :) 

I also believe in "real life " pictures so here was the scene 2.5 seconds after I took the picture above...

4. Garden love

Our vegetable and herb garden is officially started! There has been a giant rabbit hovering around so I have a feeling we'll be searching Pinterest for ways to keep rabbits away. But for now it's looking good! 

5. Memorial Day 

The official kickoff to summer is first and foremost a day to thank a Veteran for their service and remember those who sacrificed for us. We have an extra special Veteran in our family that we'll be hugging extra hard! 

Have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend! Cheers to the start of summer!! 

xo,

Mary

Happenings

I have been the worst at blogging recently! The biggest reason is that Gabriella has dropped her morning nap so most days I spend her afternoon nap catching up on things around the house. But I really enjoy writing about our lives so I am going to work on carving out a bit of writing time each week. It's nice to look back on old posts and see different milestones Gabriella hit and how much she's grown. 

At 19 months old, she is very much a toddler. She has opinions and isn't shy to voice them :) Today I was getting a shirt out for her to wear and she looked at it and said "nooo". And the way she says no is really funny- it almost sounds like "naw" which I think is her saying "nah" but it sounds like a southern accent and makes me laugh! Her vocabulary has really exploded and she is copying everything she hears. Her words aren't perfect but for the most part she lets you know what she wants. 

She tries to make people laugh now which I think is the cutest thing ever, she tries to jump(it's her squatting up and down) , attempts somersaults, and still loves her baby dolls. She picks up everything she considers a baby(dolls to small Lego people) and pats their back and says "there there". 

In other news, my team has done really well in their regattas. They placed 2nd at the Q-cup, 5th at Kent, and 4th in States. They have one more race before the season ends and I am so proud of how far they've come. 

Gianni finished the fire academy and is officially a fire fighter for our town's volunteer department. He loves that it is something so different than his day to day job and it's a great feeling to serve our community. He'll be marching in the parade in town on Monday! 

He's away for business in Denmark for this week so Gabriella and I are missing him like crazy but the week will hopefully go by quickly! We've been able to FaceTime which makes it easier as well.

Have a wonderful start to the last full week of May!! 

xo,

Mary