It's a beautiful day!

To say Lola's 2nd Birthday party was perfect would be an understatement. We couldn't have imagined a happier day celebrating our baby girl with those we love surrounding us. Here's a little sneak peak of the happiness we experienced today--and really, the state of bliss we have been in since the moment she arrived just two short years ago. Right about now, two years ago tonight, my water broke--and the rest is history!

Farewell Dinner

Uncle Mikey is the best! Every time we come to visit, he treats us to a great meal at P.F. Changs. We all got together there the day before we left Florida and wow, did he out do himself. There were more than 20 of us sitting at the Captain's Table and he had the staff bring out practically everything on the menu--and if you've been to P.F. Chang's, you know there isn't a bad thing on that menu! Yum, yum, yum!!! We all had so much fun--and as usual, Uncle Mikey took Lola around to show her off any chance he got--which is typical when we visit. Thanks Mikey, you're the best. Love you!

Bella, me & LolaAunt Janis, Mom & Renee
Lindsay & Joe
Joan, Eilleen & Brian, in from New Jersey (Uncle Rich's side of the family)--loved seeing them!
Rich & Linds
Dad & Bella--he's the baby whisper, I swear. So good with them.
Dex & his mama

Baby Pool Fun

Clark & Lola had a blast swimming together at Uncle Rich & Aunt Janis' while we were down in Florida last month. Huge thanks to Uncle Rich for sitting out there with the kids in the heat for a good hour. John, G.G. and I enjoyed the scene in the comforts of the A/C!

Our favorite DAILY summer activity!

Ellyana is THREE!

We celebrated Ellyana's 3rd Birthday party last weekend, and while I didn't get many pictures, I thought this one was perfect of my two favorite girls together. Ellyana has been the best friend to Lola since the day she was born. They love eachother so much and get so excited when they see eachother, always giving hugs right away!
Lola's party is this morning and while I woke up to a pretty decent rainshower, I'm now looking at blue skies and sunshine out our window. The Nowinski's had the pleasure of dealing with a huge rain storm the morning of their party as well, but thankfully the skies cleared for them too and it was a lovely afternoon for all the guests. See their backyard? This is Lola's favorite spot on Earth! It's a really fun place :)

Loving Mommy's heels!

I went to a wedding last night and when I got home, I was so tired from dancing I took my heels off at the first spot I sat down, at the kitchen table. I left them there overnight. Guess who was thrilled to find a fun surprise under the table first thing this morning?!

Flutter-Flutter

I guess that's the best word to describe it because that's how it feels--our son has been fluttering about my tummy since the day we found out he's a HE. It's such a sweet, good feeling--and so reassuring. I'm enjoying this while it lasts--pretty soon he's going to be so big I'll be taking elbows and knees to the ribs! All worth it though--and once he's that big, Lola & Daddy will be able to join in on the fun of feeling the kicks!

Easy Ravioli Bake

You've got to love Betty Crocker for giving you good but super easy dishes like this one. I've been making this for over a year and have been meaning to share it because it's so good--and only uses one pan!

1	jar (26 to 28 ounces) tomato pasta sauce (any variety)
1	1 package (25 to 27 1/2 ounces) frozen cheese-filled ravioli (I use wheat pasta all the time and was lucky to find frozen wheat cheese ravioli in Jewel's freezer section last month--didn't even know they made it!)
2	cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 ounces)
2	tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1.

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom and sides of rectangular baking dish 13x9x2-inches, with cooking spray.

2.

Spread 3/4 cup of the pasta sauce in baking dish. Arrange half of the frozen ravioli in single layer over sauce; top with half of the remaining pasta sauce and 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers once, starting with ravioli. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

3.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake 40 minutes. Remove foil; bake uncovered 15 to 20 minutes longer or until bubbly and hot in center. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Indoor & Patio Summer Fun

Well, for the second year in a row, Tracy and I have planned to take the kids to the Tinley pool together--and for the second year in a row, the weather had a plan of it's own. Despite the gloomy sky and change of plans, we still had a great day of play indoors and on the patio. Lola LOVED having Parker over--she went to bed last night telling me Parker was coming over tomorrow and this morning, remembered today was the day her buddy was coming to visit.

We ate lunch, had Popsicles and then these two ran around the living room, jumping all over the place (and sometimes eachother!) having a ball. As for the pool, we're going to try again in a few more weeks...fingers crossed for some sunshine!

Loving some swing time together.

Parker was all smiles today--and his smile just melts my heart!

The toddler life just rocks!


Lola--always a silly goose!

IT'S A BOY!

Someone pinch us, please! We're going to have one of each! We felt like this was a boy all along and talked about the future with that in mind--and this morning, we found out it was true! Lola & Mommy headed to the doctor for a routine ultrasound today with hopes we might find out the sex. You see, it was at 16 weeks along with Lola (right where I am now with our baby boy) that the ultrasound tech said to me, "95%, it's a girl." So of course we were hoping they'd be able to tell again at this point what this baby was. Well, it was CLEAR AS DAY that it was a BOY! The ultrasound tech didn't even have to tell me before I realized exactly what I was looking at. Lola and I made up a cheer after the tech left a room. It went like this:

Mommy: "We're having a baby..."
Lola: "BOY!"
Mommy: "We're having a baby..."
Lola: "BOY!"

We stopped at the party store on the way home and when Daddy walked in the door from work this afternoon, we were holding a balloon that read: "IT'S A BOY!" I loved telling him this way :) He was pretty speechless for the next hour--with a huge smile on his face and light in his eyes, of course! We all went out for a great sushi dinner to celebrate.

We can't wait to jump into the exciting world of everything that comes along with having a boy--to be able to experience both a daughter and a son...again, someone pinch us, PLEASE! The craziest part of all of this is that today, of all days, I think I'm feeling the baby's first flutters in my tummy. They say you can feel them earlier the second time around and these first flutters feel just like Lola's did!

Dexter is ONE!

It seems like just yesterday Rich & Lindsay were telling us they were having another baby--and now, their little guy is ONE! We were so glad to be able to celebrate Dexter's first year while we were all together in Florida. His Grandma & Grandpa threw him a great party, complete with Yankee's plates and NY style pizza--just perfect! And of course, Renee supplied the sweets--Irish Car Bomb and Fresh Strawberry cupcakes! Yum!

Dexter & Mommy opening gifts.
Lola & Clark wanted in on the action!
Yea! Messy cupcake birthday boy!
Lola & Papa, enjoying sweets.

Lola+Disney=Magic.

Lola with Mickey & Minnie, The Magic Kingdom, June 2010

Lola’s first visit to Walt’s Magic Kingdom was more wonderful than we could have imagined. She was the perfect age for her first visit--she knows who all the characters are and gets so excited whenever she sees them anywhere. So to see them live and in living color was something out-of-this-world for her!

Meeting Mickey & Minnie was by far the highlight of the day. The story goes...we waited patiently in line for about 40 minutes. You don’t see M & M this entire time--you have to wait to be brought into a smaller room when you get near the front of the line. Wouldn’t you know Lola decided to take her nap right before it’s our turn. Thankfully, when we woke her up and she saw the majesty before her, she wasn’t so tired she just went back to sleep! Quite the opposite--she perked up like someone had just put a roll of quarters in her and squirmed for about 5 minutes, trying to get out of John’s arms so she could go run up to them. We were about to be called for our turn and she starts crying because she thinks she’s not going to get to actually touch them and hug them. We put her down and she goes running into Mickey’s arms, hugging him and still crying a little at the same time. She gives Mickey a few good hugs, then goes over to Minnie and does the same. Tears dried up fast and turned into huge smiles when she realized this wasn’t all a dream! Thankfully, Renee got it all on video and it’s something we can treasure forever.

Lola+Disney=Magic.

You can click on the little picture album above to see all the pics from the day. There are many--we did so much!--but I captioned everything so you’ll know what’s going on. Just too many to put in one post. Enjoy--and HUGE THANKS again to those of you who donated to our Food Drive to help us earn our Disney Days. We thought about you all day long!

Zics in from Nash

Uncle Johnny, Auntie Mary and Jessica were in town this weekend (while Johnny is living the life in NYC interning for JPMorgan Chase!) and took the whole family out for Ed n Joe's pizza. It's always so awesome to see them--that when we do, we quickly realize how much we wish we were closer and could get together more often! Mary shared a few pics from the night...

I have no problem saying these are 3 beautiful brunettes!
Mary & Lola, deep in conversation.
Our trio.
Cousins--Mary with Lola, Gretchen and Sidney & Zoey.
Jessica with the Wallock girls, Sidney, Zoey & Hallie.
Classic Lola.

Swim Date

Nothing like having family with a pool only 2 blocks away! We went over to Auntie Cheryl & Uncle Kenny's house last week to take a dip in theirs and Lola had so much fun with her cousins Jessica & Kylie. Auntie Cheryl joined us too and did what Mom's do best--brought out Popsicles for us to enjoy! Yum :)

We can't wait to take a dip in Mom & Britt's pool soon too--they've been a tad busy though lately--they just delivered a litter of ELEVEN beautiful Great Dane puppies. Pics of that coming soon!

15 weeks

Lunch Date

Mommy & Lola were out running errands this afternoon, and we stopped at Panda Express for lunch. She was too adorable eating her rice, I couldn't help but snap a pic on my phone. She's always running around like a crazy woman that it's rare I get to sit there and just stare at that face of hers and marvel at just how beautiful she is--especially when she's stuffing her cheeks with fried rice! This is something we need to do more often because being able to sit and enjoy a meal with her, face to face and have a great conversation was the highlight of my day.

Bella's Baptism

One of the very exciting things we got to do while visiting Florida was attend the baptism of Bella Grace--Joe & Traci's adorable little girl. As you can see from the picture below, they had a wonderful gathering of family present for the special occasion. We're so glad we could be there to help celebrate Bella!
She was baptized at Sts. Peter & Paul Church in Oviedo--we love this church--it's beautiful and the masses are great. We *hope* to have #2 baptized there sometime in the early part of 2011! Brittany & Mike are up to bat this go around as God Parents!
Lola played ring-around-the-rosie with the Holy Family before the service started.
"Hi Joseph" she's saying.
The very pround Grandmas.
John with the adorable Dexter.
Me and baby girl.
I love this one--all three kiddos with their sippys.
Great shot of Traci's Grandmother (Bella) and Aunt Janis.
Clark & Lola getting in on the action.
Beautiful smiles from Mommy & Godmommy. Traci's sister Tiffany was positively beaming all day long. She was so proud to be the Godmother, you could just tell by her expression.
In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The DiTore's, The Deacon and the proud Godparents, Tiffany & Rich.
Us & #2!
The Dynamic DiTore Duo.
Ah, and finally, Lola with her love...Uncle Mikey.