DIY Family Costumes: Carl and His House

I loved making our Halloween costumes this year. Once we decided we wanted our family to do an "Up" theme, the list making, pinteresting, and creating began.

I knew from the start that I wanted to be Kevin and that Giuliana should be Russell. And a darn cute Russell she was, at that. It only made sense for Brian to be Carl. I already shared how I did my Kevin Costume and my G's Russell Costume. Now it's time for Carl and his house to take the spotlight.

Anyway, Carl is the epitome of a curmudgeon. So Brian was perfect. =D 

In all seriousness, Brian was a great sport about it- it was over 100 degrees the day we dressed up for Mickey's Halloween Party, and Brian fully committed to the costume by wearing slacks, a long sleeved shirt, and fake glasses that kept fogging up on him. But he sure looked good!

I found fake glasses cheap on Amazon. I had already made the Ellie Badge for G's birthday party (more on that another day). We borrowed suspenders from my brother, but I bought bow tie. Now we can be fancy. The rest of it is pretty much clothing most people would have around the house... or at least, their dads might!

One thing I did get was white hair spray form the party store. It was a bit unnecessary, but it added to the effect.

I would only recommend it if you have time and/or access to a shower before bed though. Brian said it felt weird by the end of the night and it was difficult to get out. Sweating from the heat of the day probably didn't help much either. I think when he dresses up again on the actual day of Halloween, he's going to skip it.

So one thing Carl does throughout the entire movie is pull his house around. Well, Brian got to push his!

Making Hudson's costume was hands down my favorite part of this whole thing. Once we had settled on Up, I knew I wanted to incorporate the stroller since Hudson would only be about 3 months old. It was easy to find pictures and ideas for the rest of the costumes, but I couldn't seem to find anyone that built a house around a stroller. Using the basic idea from this tutorial, my dad and I made it happen.

Step 1- We made a prototype. We knew this wasn't the final product, so it made it a little easier to experiment. With some moving boxes from Lowes, we put together a basic house structure.

Step 2- Since we would need to transport it from our house to Disneyland (about an hour away without traffic), the house would have to removable from the stroller so everything could fold down and fit safely in the car. We figured out that we wanted to attach it to the stroller by hanging the back from the handles, while the front would rest on the front of the stroller. We attached it with some floral wire I got at Dollar Tree.

Step 3- We had to make sure it was baby-approved. It was. We made sure to make the opening in the front big enough to get Hudson in and out easily. The back side of the roof flipped up too for easy access to give him a binky. It's not pictures, but we also cut windows on the side for added effect and air movement.

Step 4- We added some details to the front to make it look as much like the "Up" house as possible. Of course, the dimensions couldn't be spot on- we had to be able to see over the top of it, push it through crowds, fit it in the car, and ya know, fit a baby inside of it- but we could add the little things to make it recognizable- the bay window in front, the eaves on the roof, the chimney....

Step 5- Paint! We spray painted the house white as like a primer. Then I went to town painting the house all of the fun colors the movie used.

Step 6- I added some more details. I found a little fence from Hobby Lobby that I used around the front yard. I painted some used brick detail on the chimney. I painted on windows and trim. And my favorite thing of all...

I recreated the mailbox out of construction paper and leftover cardboard. <3 p="">

After we arrived to our hotel and put the kids down for their nap, Brian left to go get some balloons and we had our finished product! 

The boys were a hit! A lot of people stopped us and wanted to take pictures. We got a lot of compliments. But the best part was we were able to make a lot of fun family memories.

If you're interested, you can see our DIY Monsters, Inc costumes from last year by clicking here!

DIY Family Costumes: Russell and Kevin

Even though Halloween is a good three weeks away and it's like, 102 degrees around here, we have already started celebrating! We went to Mickey's Halloween Party last weekend and we had SO much fun!

This year's family theme was Up!

Doing an entire family theme seems daunting at first, but once I made some lists and broke it down, it really wasn't that bad.

This is how I made the Carl and house costumes. In this post, I'll share how I put together the Kevin and Russell costumes.

They were pretty easy, and actually a lot of fun!

I'll start with Russell, mostly because Giuliana was so cute! :)

 Here's what you will need:

1- Iron-on Transfer paper, similar to this. Note- it has to be made to iron onto dark fabric.
2- A yellow T-shirt
3- Khaki shorts or if you want to make it girly like I did, a brown tutu. I got mine here.
4- A yellow hat. I found mine here.
5- Brown felt. How much will depend on who you're making the costume for, but for G (who is a pretty big 2 year old), I didn't need more than half a yard.
6- These Carter's socks (but that's just a small detail, not necessary to complete the costume)
7- An orange bandana (I found mine at JoAnn)

Basically, all I did was find a scout sash shape that I liked by Googling "scout sash template." I eyeballed it and cut it out of the felt. Next I googled to find some Wilderness Explorer badges, and I found them here! I also found the WE logo for the hat. I cut everything out and ironed it onto the felt.

  Because the sash is made for a toddler, I couldn't fit a lot of badges on it, so I picked out my favorite ones and made sure I left room for the all-important Ellie Badge.

I cut out the WE logo and basically used baste stitching to secure it to the hat. I just eyeballed it, so it's not perfect.

Like I mentioned earlier, I wanted G to be able to feel a little girly in her costume, so although I brought the khaki shorts just in case, she wore the tutu. I also didn't want to stress about finding a yellow polo shirt, so i just used a yellow T that she already had. And of course, she didn't want anything to do with the bandana, so that got left out of the night's festivities. :)

Now for Kevin...

1- I already had a yellow skirt, but any yellow or blue tutu or skirt or dress would work just as well!
2- Kevin-colored tulle
3- An elastic band the same color as the skirt
4- Kevin-colored feathers
5- A bird mask I found in the kids' dress up section at JoAnn
6- Pipecleaners
7-Blue leggings (or tights) and a blue tank top (or shirt)

At first Kevin was stumping me. I knew I wanted Kevin to be my costume, but I had no idea how to pull it off. I thought about making a paper mache mask, but I have never done that before. Then I stumbled upon that bird mask and figured I could make that work. Paper mache will have to wait until next year! :) I tweaked the mask a bit with some paint and scissors, added the pipe cleaners and feathers, voila!

It's not exact, but you get the point- it's a bird. A bird that looks a lot like that bird from that movie Up...

:)

Then I sewed the elastic to the shirt at a couple of different points across the waist band- just in case I decide to wear the skirt again.

Next I went around the elastic, making a no-sew bustle.

It's hard to tell from this picture, but I made the dark blue longer, the light blue shorter.

Then I hot glued the feather to the ends of the tulle, to give the skirt some weight, texture, and of course, bird-like qualities. :) Simple. And fun!

Love that kid!



Psssst... if you're looking for other Halloween ideas, HERE's our family theme from last year!

Disney Halloween

I love Summer. I love being off of work. I love going swimming and spending time at the beach. I love dining al fresco and not having to worry about carrying a sweater.

But there's just something about Fall, isn't there?

Family gatherings, baseball playoffs, pumpkin everything, a crispness in the air (everywhere but So Cal, apparently)...

And Halloween!

 Last year was my first year as a Disney Annual Passport holder, and a whole new world was opened up to me. (Pun intended)
That's when I discovered Mickey's Halloween Party.
Once I discovered there was a Halloween party at Disneyland, I was sold. I'll talk more about it in the future, but it's basically discounted tickets for Disneyland. You can enter at 4:00pm, but the "party" starts at 7:00pm. That's when they start to kick everyone else out. Party goers get a wristband to distinguish them from other guests. There's special parades, fireworks, and all you can trick-or-treat candy lines. Seriously, you can get A LOT of candy. Costumes aren't required but they are encouraged, and everyone that does choose to dress up usually looks amazing!

Last year, little Miss G was 1, able to walk, and we could just barely get her hair into high pigtails. An idea was born...

 We did Monsters, Inc! My mom helped me sew G's Boo costume. It's basically constructed like a backwards vest. It's attached in the back with some velcro strips. I attached the sequined purple fabric to an old hood from a sweatshirt of hers, along with some yarn and the eyes (pipe cleaners and Styrofoam balls). With some white pants and long sleeves, her costume was complete!

I painted our monster shirts, but now of course, they sell very similar shirts like these for Mike or this for Sully, but I enjoyed the process of making them and I saved us a couple of bucks too. I made my tutu out of tulle and elastic from JoAnn. I found my blue hat at Party City and I painted the Monsters logo on that as well. We got a lot of compliments and had a blast. I was sold.

G even still uses her costume...

This was literally like, 3 weeks ago. She wore it while she was watching the movie.

THIS year, we had an extra family member to add to mix.

The movie Up has kind of been a running theme for Brian and I during our relationship. He proposed to me during a picnic/movie in the park night featuring the movie. We threw G an Up themed 2nd birthday party. Why not run with it, right?

I give you...

An Up Family Halloween!

We just did Mickey's Halloween Party last weekend and it might have been even better than last year! My brother and his girlfriend joined us and we met up with a couple of other friends. Giuliana is actually old enough to trick or treat now, and she partied like a little rock star. I'll update with a recap of the night soon, but it was definitely one to remember!

***UPDATE!***
Here's how I made the Kevin and Russell Costumes!
And here's how I made the Carl and the House Costumes!

Baby Love

Something amazing happened today. Another first for Giuliana, and possibly, my favorite so far.

I was folding some laundry and she was "helping" me. Her helping consists of picking up items that I've already folded, shaking them out, and then laying them back down. Extremely counterproductive, but you better believe I will not discourage her form assisting with any chore, even if that means more work for me!

Anyway, back to one of the best Mommy moments ever. She was so adorable that I stopped what I was doing to just look at her and admire her. I laid my head down on the couch, so now her head is above mine and she's looking down at me.

In a moment of pure emotion, she grabbed my face with each of her sweet little toddler hands on my cheeks, bent down and kissed me. Then she pulled away, my face still cupped in her hands, and said as clear as day, "I love you, Mommy."

This should not have caught me as off guard as it did. She has been talking for a while now. She regularly speaks in full sentences now. And one of the first things we taught her to say was the phrase "I love you." But we've always had to prompt her to say it. "Do you love Daddy?' "Tell Nona you love her."

She's also always been very sensitive. She likes to stroke my face as she drifts off to sleep. She frequently asks for "big hugs" which means that as soon as you wrap your arms around her, she squeezes you back as hard as her little 2 year old body will allow.

But this was the first time she came up with the words all on her own. She wasn't asking for anything or being silly. She was just acting on what she was feeling. It made me pause for a moment. I was filled with pride that she was able to put these words together to form such an amazing sentence. I was filled with wonder at her sweet little brain was able to correlate her emotions with her actions. Most of all, I was filled with so much love for this little girl that I felt like I was going to over flow with it.

I jumped up from the couch as fast as my soft postpartum body would allow me and I told her I love her too as I swooped her up into a big bear hug.

This little girl is the walking definition of love and my greatest accomplishment to date. She most likely will not remember anything that happened today, but it was one of the best, most real moments in my life, and a memory that I will cherish forever.

Beneath the Walnut Tree

This is currently my "About" page, but if all goes the way I want it to, I will be updating that page very soon. :)

Triathlon!

 I've always been an athlete. About 5 years ago, I had placed first in my age group at a local 5k, participated in my first triathlon, then half marathon, and then the full 26.2... and I loved it. I was playing tackle football on the weekends and flipping friends on the mat during some after-work Jiu Jitsu sessions. I didn't know it at the time, but I was at my highest level of fitness to date. When I first started this blog, I was in my mid-twenties, newly engaged, and eager to lose about 5 pounds to look awesome on my wedding day. I was ready to try any and all new activities. When I originally started this blog, I called it The Try-Athlete. It was going to be about all of my athletic adventures and I thought I was pretty freakin' clever.

At the finish line of the LA Marathon

Meanwhile...
My mileage was shrinking to nothing. Well, nothing to keep track of and blog about, anyway. My nights gave way to DIY sessions for our upcoming nuptials. I kinda started falling in love with crafting.

Our wedding was perfect. Outdoors in a walnut grove surrounded by all of our friends and family.

Cut to 3 years later... we are the proud parents of our two year old daughter, our newborn son, and an enthusiastic Labrador Retriever. We are the new owners of a 50 year old fixer-upper. We both work full time. Needless to say, my priorities have changed and I won't be up for consideration for world's most amazing athlete any time soon.

This blog is a little bit of the stuff I love. I love my family. I love making over our new (to us) home with my husband. I love decorating my babies' rooms. I love doing things with and for my family- going to Disneyland in particular. (If I ran as often as I go to Disney, I would be ultra-marathon ready.) I love making things with my own hands. I love party planning. I admit, I have a love-hate relationship with writing and running (and if I'm being honest, cooking and cleaning), but I want to conquer it all. 

And so here I find myself. I might be a little softer than I used to be. My mile time might be is significantly slower than before. And sometimes, just a full day with a toddler and an infant is a real struggle. But my heart is happy and my life is full. Everything that I do, everything that I am- I am because of those precious moments when we shared our vows beneath those walnut trees.

Racing Again! Sort Of...

I'm not going to make any excuses about why I haven't written anything in the last, what? 6 months? 10 months? Either way, it's been too long. But I'm back and there's so much catching up to do!

For now, I'm just going to talk about this weekend, because it was a doozy! In a good way, of course!

On Friday, Brian and I went down to Irvine to pick up our packets for the ROC Race... It's the Ridiculous Obstacle Course Race which "combines a 5K course with game show inspired obstacles to give you the craziest run ever!"

After we picked up our packets, we hung out down in the OC, had some dinner, and spent some Brian and Kristen time, sans baby.

The Race
Costumes weren't required but they were encouraged. I've never worn a costume for a race before and Brian is a goofball that usually goes along with my shenanigans, so I figured this would be a perfect time to try the costume thing.

We were Mickey and Minnie! I threw the costumes together the day before. I got some red shorts for Brian, a red tutu for me, and sewed some white dots on them. I also grabbed a yellow bow tie for Brian. and we actually had the ears- my brother's girlfriend made a bunch of them for Giuliana's 1st birthday- it was a Minnie theme... Disney has been kind of a family theme lately!

 Anyway, the race itself was a lot of fun! There were a lot of costumes and tutus and wigs... It was pretty warm outside, but you start getting wet almost right away on some of the obstacles, so it was relatively easy to keep cool.

They had water stations along the course. There was a ton of fun volunteers. It was a fun experience in general. Obviously, this wasn't a race you would take very seriously. It wasn't timed or anything like that. It was purely for fun.

I think this "race" was a good way to begin my quest to get my mind and body back to where it all should be. I cannot remember the last time I went to the gym. I've gone on some runs with my kids at school here and there. I go on walks with Brian. But I am nowhere near where I have the potential to be. Whether or not I would finish this race was never in question. What I worried about before we began was how strong I would feel during it.

Honestly, it was about what I expected. I was able to do everything. Just not as well as I would have hoped. I definitely needed to walk at times. I definitely had jello arms and legs by the end. So now I know how far I have to go. More on that to come in further posts though. I have even better things to talk about right now...

Post race!

After the race, Brian and I were starving, so we stopped at Subway. Then we headed back toward home because we had a party to get to. Our good friends Andrew and Julia are moving to New York for medical school in a couple of weeks, so Andrew's parents threw them a going away party that evening. Brian and I had brought our race shirt and clean shorts to change into post race, but the plan was to go home, take showers, and then head over to the party. Well. So Cal traffic was at its finest and we were in the car for about two and a half hours. Needless to say, the party was already over an hour deep by the time we got back in town and we didn't want to have to leave the baby at Brian's parents' house for too long, so we decided to head straight to the party.

We were literally turning onto their street when my mom texts "Are you guys close?" I wrote back to her that we didn't have the baby, so if she wanted to be the braggy show off grandma, it wasn't going to happen. Or something like that. She wrote back, "I think something special is about to happen, just hurry up!" I looked over at Brian and I said, "Well, they're already engaged. *GASP!* I bet they're getting married!"

Sure enough, this is what we saw when we walked into their backyard:

 And that's our buddy Mike officiating and my brother Jeff as the best man! My brother- who is also currently our roommate- had helped keep this whole thing a secret! We had no idea! It was the sweetest little backyard wedding ever and so much fun! These two have been together for close to 7 years and they are awesome together. I'm so very happy for them. And sadly, they're still leaving for New York at the end of the month.

Because it was a surprise for all of the guests, no one was super dressed up. But Brian and I managed to take the cake as Under Dressed, Party of 2...

Yeah...

Anyway, the only other picture I took last night was this one with Brian and Mike:

That's pretty typical.

The whole day was fun and unexpected! I loved it!

Today I managed to keep the streak alive (2 DAYS- whoot!) by getting Brian, Giuliana, and Kevin rounded up for an easy hike this morning.

And the weekend fun continues!!!

Boston

The last 24 hours, my thoughts have been filled with confusion, shock, anger, disgust, and sorrow.

I've been at home the last two days with a sick baby. Yesterday after I put her down for a nap in her crib, I walked out to the living room where the TV was already on. My mind couldn't process what I was seeing and hearing. The words "bombing" "Boston" and "marathon" kept swirling around. The images of blood and smoke and chaos displayed on the screen had to come out of a war zone, so why did they keep saying Boston? It didn't make sense to me.

Then I realized what they were actually saying. The finish line at the Boston Marathon had suffered a bombing.

Although the images and the words now made sense, nothing else about it did.

Who would blow up a marathon? And the most celebrated and prestigious marathons at that.

Was it a foreign terrorist attack? A disgruntled runner that couldn't quite BQ this year?

Were there more bombs? Were more venues about to be attacked?

Although everything about this story made me feel sick, I couldn't tear my eyes away from what I was witnessing.

On a personal note...
I am, by no stretch of the imagination, an endurance athlete. I've run exactly one marathon, one half-marathon, one sprint triathlon, and a handful of 5Ks. Really though, if I'm being honest, I could only ever run the first 5 or 6 miles of the races and then I would alternate walking and jogging the remaining miles. Races have always been a way for me to challenge myself, but were never something I prided myself on or even really trained for. Although I would like to get back into racing eventually, for now finishing these races has become more of something that I can check off my bucket list.

So far, my goal so far has been just to finish. Finish times have not mattered, PRs have not mattered. Just finishing. Feeling that sense of accomplishment. Earning that medal. That's what has mattered.

This bombing took that, and so much more, away from so many people.

I don't want to imagine training for months to run one of the greatest races I will ever compete in, only to get a DNF at the end of the day. I don't want to imagine waiting for my dad to cross the finish line, being so happy and so proud, only to lose my brother and my own leg. I don't want to imagine cheering on my friends with bells and posters, only to be terrorized with bombs going off around me and not knowing what direction I should run for safety. I don't want to imagine being a mother at home, anxiously awaiting a phone call from my child bragging about their race, only to turn on the television and pray that my child will instead call me to tell me they are alive and in tact. I do not want to imagine the surge of accomplishment I would feel by running my hardest toward the finish line, only to have that feeling be shattered by smoke and shrapnel. I don not want to imagine being such an amazing and strong athlete, only to have one or both of my legs blown off from under me. I do not want to imagine running into a crowd to help those injured, only to find gruesome injuries and limbs scattered on the ground.

I do not want to imagine any of these things. And yet, I cannot stop thinking about them.

I don't mean to make this about me, but in a way I can't help it. It's another instance where this could have happened to any of us, and that is affecting me.  When I "ran" the LA marathon in 2010 with my then-boyfriend Brian, it was a struggle to finish. It took us a while, but we stuck together, and the best feeling in the world was turning the last corner to see the finish line up ahead through the fog.

We stopped to take this picture- maybe 100 or so feet away from the finish line- because we were so happy and proud of ourselves.

Looking at this picture now is eerie to me. We're in a very similar location in this race as the first bomb was in Boston. We were so elated at that moment. Those runners in the same spot yesterday went from such an amazing high to such a low, so quickly. It hurts my head and my heart to put myself in the shoes of those wonderful people in Boston.

Again, while I am nowhere near an elite enough level to come close to qualifying for Boston, I feel a kinship with those runners and their families. I remember being at that finish line. It is such a moment of personal satisfaction, joy, and innocence. Any kind of violence or pain- except for that pesky blister on your foot- are the furthest thing from your mind.

I don't really know how to end this post. Mostly because everything still seems so raw and my mind is still scattered with thoughts and emotions. But I do know this- my heart hurts for all of the runners, family, friends, and fans that were injured yesterday. And I am so proud of all of the people who stepped up and assisted wherever and however they could. My heart is with all of the people who were affected yesterday, both physically and emotionally.

Dear Giuliana: Month 3

My sweet, beautiful baby girl,

 

 

I cannot believe that 3 months have already passed. My time flies by when I’m with you. You are still just as beautiful as ever- in fact, you’re becoming more gorgeous every day. Sometimes, you make faces that look exactly like daddy. Even when I don’t think it can be possible to love either one of you more than I already do, a little smirk will spread across your face and I see your daddy’s personality glowing in your eyes and my heart swells with more love for both of you. For you, because you are a part of him and for daddy because without him, I would have never met you. I love you both so completely and infinitely that it hurts. (In the best way imaginable!)

And are you ever a daddy’s girl! Don’t get me wrong- you and I still have a blast together! We still do our dance parties and cuddle as much as possible and go on walks with Kevin. But you love your daddy something fierce. You definitely recognize us and when daddy comes home from work, you light up! You are all smiles for him and I know that he can’t wait to come home to that smile!

And not only do you smile, you’ve been laughing! I used to think that a baby’s laughter was one of the best sounds in the world. Now I know, without a doubt in my mind, that YOUR laughter is the single best sound I have ever heard. First, you smile with your eyes. Then the corners of your mouth curl up and your lips part. Next comes your amazing little giggle- and sometimes even a shriek of delight! And when you laugh, so do the rest of us.

I hope you always have that gift- to keep smiling and light up the lives of those around you.

Your third month was kind of a crazy one, and I am still impressed with your adaptability- another gift I hope you can maintain as you get older. During one of the hottest couple of weeks this summer, our air conditioning went out at home. We ended up spending more time at Grandma and Grandpa’s house than we did at our own, and you handled that like a champ! Just more people to love you, I guess! But you were patient while I worked- you even went to work with me a couple of times!

In a sad case of adaptability, you got pink eye right at the end of your third month. We had to give you eye drops 4 times a day, and although you did not like them, you let me drop them in with minimal crying and squirming- not such an easy task for such a little girl! I still don’t understand how you contracted pink eye in the first place, the doctor suggested that you might have touched your nose, then your eye. We’ll never know for sure, but 2 good things did come out of it- you’re advanced enough to have some hand-eye coordination and we found out that you weigh 12.2 pounds!You’ve officially more than doubled your birth weight, and you’re growing into such a big, strong, healthy girl. I know I say it every month, but we really weren’t sure what to expect when you arrived so early, and I have been nothing but impressed with your tenacity and strength.

Speaking of hand-eye coordination, one of our proudest moments to date was in the last couple of weeks when you started grabbing your hanging toys and bringing them to your mouth. It seems like a little thing, and one day when you’re playing on the Varsity team, we’ll look back and laugh at how impressed we were… but for right now, we all think its pretty amazing! I am getting such a kick out of watching you learn new things and absorb the world around you!

I’ve been dying to take you to one of the high school football games- maybe next week- because I think you will like it so much! You love being outside, you love motion and colors, and so far, you love watching sports on TV. Remember when we watched the baseball all-star game together? Well since then in the last month, you’ve gotten to watch the Olympics and the opening week of the NFL and for whatever reason, you cannot tear your eyes away from the screen! And you’re very intense while you’re watching! (By the way, you seemed to like the water sports best during the Olympics…)

A couple of other highlights from this month (and I’m apologizing now if this ends up embarrassing you later):

• Pee diapers really bother you. Like, really bother you. You immediately start to cry. we can be driving or in a restaurant- it doesn’t matter. When you’ve peed, we all know about it. It’s the angriest I’ve ever seen you. (Probably until you read this!) But it’s okay- I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it means you’ll be easy to potty train. Again, fingers crossed!
• You are starting to enjoy your baths more and more. At first, you strongly disliked them. There was a lot of crying and shaking involved. Now you seem to love them! You relax and smile. You watch yourself in the mirror. It’s a nice way for both of us to unwind together at the end of the day- it usually makes you pretty sleepy and I love holding you naked! You have the cutest little butt! (Sorry, future G- but it really is adorable!)
• You love, love, LOVE your monkey binky! It’s right there in that picture of you and Kevin. And in your week 11 picture. When you’re upset, sucking on it soothes you and now that you’re using your hands, you like to cuddle it!
• That picture to the right of you and Kevin?… that is very indicative of the relationship between you guys. He’s fully gotten used to you and he’s very protective of you. He enjoys being near you and smooching you. You’re comfortable with him too. When you’re laying down and comes over to visit you, you smile up at him. It’ll be cool to see how you guys interact when you’re a little older (and you’ll probably want to yank on his tail or ride him). My two “kids”… I love how sweet you guys are together!
• You’ve been sleeping through the night. It’s a pretty sweet deal- you usually fall asleep around 10 pm, and aside from the occasional 4:30 am wake up call, you sleep through till 6:30, 7:00, sometimes even 8:00 am! Oh happy day for mama!
• Oh, did I mention that you’re the coolest baby in town?? It’s true. You’ve got the shades to prove it. They’re still a little too big for you, but I figure for as much as you enjoy being outside, they’ll get a lot of use. Plus, you look A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!
• Lastly, you love your family. Not just me, daddy, and Kevin, but your extended family. You recognize all of your grandparents and always smile for them. Your grandma and grandpa on Daddy’s side have been so great- anytime I need a babysitter so I can run to work, they’re there for us, so you’ve gotten to spend a lot of time with them and they are so good with you and they love you so much! I want to talk about my family for a bit though…

Seeing you with my family is like nothing I could have ever imagined. My mom is great with you- that was no surprise. She has been an amazing mother- very knowledgeable and protective and maternal. I’ve seen her with other babies and small children, so seeing how she interacts with you doesn’t surprise me one bit. In fact, I look to her for guidance and support. Don’t get me wrong- my dad has always been a fabulous father. But- although I know he has- I can’t actually remember him holding a baby. And then there’s Uncle Jeff. I distinctly remember him being afraid to hold babies! But with you, they are all so incredible! Grandma loves cuddling you and rocking you to sleep. Uncle Jeff has babysat you a couple of times and you both seem to love each other. He’s not afraid of you at all. And he might deny it, but I think he secretly looks forward to each time he gets to see you! Aunt Jenn too. She’s always asking about you. It makes me happy to see how much of an interest they take in you! (Maybe you’ll get a cousin sometime in the near future!)

Now watching you with your grandpa- that has been the best surprise! He loves spending time with you- feeding you, talking to you, playing with you. You guys have your own games that you play. You’ve fallen asleep together cuddling on the couch. (probably watching a car auction!) I’m not surprised at how much he loves you, but I am surprised at how wonderful he is with you. I’ve never heard him use baby talk before now!  You like to watch his mustache bounce up and down while he’s talking to you and when he kisses you, I call them walrus kisses. You seem to like them a lot! And oh boy, when him and grandma are together, they just dote upon you! The love in the room is so strong that it’s tangible and as I stand there behind them, watching them shower you with tickles and kisses, I feel almost like I’ve gotten to go back in time. I feel like I am getting to see what they must have been like with me when I was your age. How lucky am I to get the chance to make that trip?? And how lucky are you to be surrounded by such an amazing family and so much love? Always remember what a fortunate little girl you are and never take for granted this wonderful family we’ve been born into!

Giuliana, I love you more and more as each day passes. I’m looking forward to falling asleep tonight because I know I’ll get to wake up to your sweet smile and fall in love with you even more!

XOXO,

Mom