HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMILY

To the bestest little Emily in all the world... Mommy and Daddy want to wish you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Its hard to believe our little Emily is 2 years old. She is getting so big. The above pictures show her in the dryer "folding clothes" and the second one is with her teddy bear that Pappy D gave her (he got it when he had heart surgery in May).

Today is all about Emily-- we had her pictures taken, she got to play in the car (honking the horn), and when she wakes up she will play for a bit then go to Chuck E Cheese with some friends. Tomorrow we will have a cake for her!

Time really does fly. I cant believe how fast it goes. Shes great and we love her very much!

Recent Pics of Emily

Ok... another cute thing Emily has been doing... if you say something to her like... are you excited? or for halloween--are you a mummy? She says... no I a girl. Just thought it was cute. And Emily was great at the dentist...she let the hygentist look in her mouth...polish them and put floride on them. The dentist was another story... he didnt give a chance to adjust to him so she wouldnt open her mouth. But overall they were amazed at her for being 1 yr old.

EMILY IN HER HALLOWEEN COSTUME---SHE IS A MUMMY!

Something funny

We have our first item up the nose! We were eating some breaded chicken for dinner. Emily likes to eat the leg meat. So we gave her the leg and Canio and I started eating/talking. She was just eating away....until she laughed and said... I stuck it up nose. I asked her "What?... You stuck something up your nose?" She looked at me very seriously and said, yes. (She looked at me as if to say... Yeah...so?) I told her to look up and sure enough she had stuck some of the breading up her nose. Then she wanted to pick it out so Canio had to keep her hands occupied while I went for the tweezers. We performed a chickeneptomy from Emily's nose with no complications! It was SO hard not to laugh. Just wait....wait until prom night or until she gets engaged and I can share this with that special someone. Wahhhehheheheehhaa (evil laugh). Really...photos to come!

Here is the baby in 3d. That's the head in the upper middle...its a sid profile. Below the white on the left side is a dark area--thats the eye..that ehe little triangle is the nose and the lip right below. The hand is up to the face on the far left. The other shoulder is just pas the ear and the arm wraps aroudn the right and down across the bottom. Photos of Emily to follow.

Canio Has Surgery & Pregnancy & Emily Update

Hi everyone! October has been an exciting month so far. On October 10th Canio had an emergency appendictomy at 8pm. He had stomach pains that Monday night that never went away. After 7 hrs in the ER, we were told he needed surgery. His surgery lasted just over an hour with him in recovery for about 40 minutes. He has an cut about 5inches long. The doc said it was a tricky case because it was curled up like knots. He spent an extra day in the hospital because he had trouble urinating afterwards. He came home on Thursday, Oct 12. He returned to work on Wed Oct 18 for 1/2 a day and then resumed full time. We are happy he is feeling better now. It was the first time Canio had ever had surgery, other than having his tonsils taken out when he was 4. On Oct. 18th I had another prenatal appointment. We had another ultrasound and a 3D image too. The baby is growing right on schedule, I was according to my due date 17w, 6 days and the body measured 17w 5days--head was 18w 2 days-- and the baby weighed 7 oz! Also, the placenta previa has corrected itself. And we found out the sex. While the tech did say it was still early, she did get a good look between the legs... and she has pronounced.... it will be.... are you ready?.... a girl! Yep, another girl. This makes us happy but makes me a little sad too, as I dont plan on having any other children at this time, I would have liked to have experienced a boy too. But the Lord knows what I can do well, and so I feel blessed that he has honored us with another little girl. Her name will be Abigail. We havent come up with a middle name yet, but I like Anne/Ann. We will call her Abbey...but might spell it Abby. Emily has approved the name Abbey. She likes it she said. She did see the ultrasound but was not interested that much and decided to go for a walk instead. The doc said everything is moving along great. I am not really showing like one might think... but I am now almost out of all my pants...they still button but they are uncomfortable. I guess when you start out fat...it takes longer to show hehehe. I am feeling good with the normal exceptions of heartburn, fatigue, stuffy nose, and Im starting to get backpains. Emily is amazing us more every day. Last week she started singing the ABCs. She can now get to S (with a weird sound for LMN). She can tell you the name of EVERY letter if you point to it. She has also started singing the "clean up" song... And now mimics everything anyone says. Her nursery (church class for 18 mo-3yr) teacher says she is getting really comical in how she plays and acts. She can also read/spell the word GO and can count to 11. Her wisdom is unreal. She has also now begun to play with stuffed animals (BUT PLEASE NOTE-- DO NOT BUY ANY MORE STUFFED ANIMALS FOR HER AS SHE HAS ABOUT 20+). She puts them to bed, gives them binkies, rocks them to sleep, kisses their booboos (which by the way she was very cute about Daddy's "booboo" and gave him kisses to make it better as well), and today she read some books to a crowd she had gathered. Her imaginative play is very creative. She also yells at them...like "Get down NOW" (Hmm wonder where she gets that?). We visited Roba's Tree Farm (she went once with Nana and Poppy by herself). She loves the hay. There is a tent where they can throw hay. She gets a big kick out of that. She also liked feeding the animals. And she did a pony ride on Coco, the minature pony. As she went in circles, she said hi to Coco and then said, Weee this is fun. Also, she has fallen in love with pumpkins. Yep, she is REALLY into Halloween. We have gone out at night to look for lit up pumpkins. I am super excited for Christmas now! Finally, I accepted a job working Wed nights, Saturdays and Sundays after church at the Childrens PLace in the local mall. Am I nuts? You betcha. But we need money for the new baby's things (as no one has even sent a congratulations card this time around, not even family... so I think we are solidly on our own). And while it doesnt pay a lot...it pays something. Plus I get a discount on their clothes...which I love for Emily because they fit so nicely. After the holidays, I will stay on as a per diem employee and only be required to work 1 day every 90 days. This will allow me to stay on the payroll for future work and still keep the awesome discount. The doc says no standing type job after 24 weeks, but I will be 24 wks in just 5 wks (right around black Friday)...so I guess I will just have to relax when I am at home---Tues, Wed, Thur, and Friday mornings. Hopefully Canio can handle Emily AND housework =). The weather is cold here. YUCK. The cats are good. Cars are running well (thank goodness)...so not much else to report. Check the next post--there will be pictures of Emily. Emily has just awoke from a nap...or I would do it now. She is also very addicted to the computer--already!

SURPRISE

Well, if you can believe it we are already half way through September already! Canio and I's anniversary is one week from today. It was a year ago that Emily started having seizures. She is still seizure free! Emily is now speaking in sentences. She loves blueberries. Today she was eating some and said, Mommy... I need more. This is unreal considering she is not even 2 yet! And we can now count to 10 (nine good..10 with help). She mimicks EVERYTHING we do. She loves the computer, especially a website www.starfalls.com. Dont forget to listen to the football games at www.audiosportsonline.com!!! Ok so are you wondering what this "surprise is?" Ok scroll down.... I'm pregnant! I'm 4 months pregnant. Everything is going well. I am feeling great! I have been referred to high risk doctors for consultation just like the last time...the cool thing about that is that I get a 3D ultrasound in Nov. The baby is due the 3rd wk of March (3/22). I had an ultrasound yesterday because 5 nurses could not find a heartbeat (I am 13 wks). While they sent me home on Tuesday with assurances everything would be fine... waiting for that ultrasound was so trying. I prayed and read my scriptures...and felt peaceful that it was going to be ok. Despite a feeling I have been having that "something" just wasnt "right". Well, as you can see...the baby is FINE. It is a little mexican jumping bean! It DOES NOT set still and that is why they couldnt get the heartbeat. It took the ultrasound tech 5 minutes to catch 3 heartbeats without it moving around like a mad cow. The heart was at 153 bpm. It is face down in the picture, with its spine on top. It waved, did back flips, and patted it's tummy while I got to watch for 10 minutes. They did find that I have placenta previa. It means my placenta is partially covering the hole the baby will come out. I have been told that this will probably fix itself by 20 wks. In the meanwhile I am on some restrictions. If it doesnt fix itself it just means that I have to be careful and I will have to have a C-section...WHICH I DO NOT WANT. SO keep us in your prayers. And little Emily is excited (so far) about getting a new baby to play with!. Talk to yo uall soon!

CANIO TO DO HS FOOTBALL ONLINE

CANIO WILL BE BROADCASTING NEPA HS FOOTBALL STARTING TOMORROW NIGHT AT 6:45PM. TO LISTEN GO TO WWW.AUDIOSPORTSONLINE.COM THEN SELECT FOOTBALL AND THEN CLICK ON DISTRICT II SPORTS. PLEASE GET ALL YOUR FRIENDS TO LOG IN FOR A FEW MINUTES AT LEAST!!!!

Also, check out www.nepasports.bravehost.com

Here's a pretty picture of Emily

More Beach Pictures

Here are two more beach pictures... I realized I didnt add them when I did the pictures a few days ago. (The first one Emily is telling us to kiss her butt!) The second picture is Emily Loving some waves! While at the beach we hunted for sea shells, built castles (which Emily promptly crashed), did some shopping and relaxed. We stayed at a great house that even had a hammock. We were able to relax and play games while the kids slept. Emily took on average a 2.5-3.5 hr nap each day and was in bed by 9pm ... and didnt wake up til 8:30 everyday. She is definately a beach bum and I believe that because she sleeps better there--we should live there...hehehe. Emily did have to go to the ER while we were there-- constipation... they were GREAT at that hospital. In other news... Emily can now count to 8 (she knows nine and is getting 10 but you have to prompt her to go that high). She is learning her colors and knows the 4 basic shapes. Her "new" things are going "rrrrrr. I cookie monster", "Yeah, Ok...", "How bout_____"--when she doesnt like what you have offered her, and "Thnk You Vry Much" (yeah, she says it funny). Today she burped and I said..."What do you say?" (She has a manners book teaching her these things) and she looked at me and said..."B U R P". I said, Yes- I know you burped, what do you say.... She giggled and said BURP. I gave her a stern look and she said Excuse me (but unless you knew what she was saying...you wouldnt recognize it because it sounds more like uxe me). And she now goes to bed by herself. We give her a bath, brush her teeth, dress her, and then go to her room to read 1-2 books. We say a prayer (and at the end she says AAAA-men), and then we give hugs and kisses. I lay her in the crib, we tell her goodnight, sweet dreams, we will see her in the morning and that we will be back and then we shut off the light, turn on the music and leave. This use to send her to hysteria and I would end up staying with her for 3-4 songs until she calmed down. Now she just nodds, tells us goodnight, and quietly goes to sleep. I feel so blessed to have Emily in my life. She is wonderful and I would hate my life without her in it. What a stong, sweet, wonderful spirit she has. In my church, we are taught that we lived with our Heavenly Father before we came to earth (as spirits). And we are told that the strongest, sweetest spirits have remained until now. I know my Heavenly Father has to be proud of my little girl because she is so loving and sweet. She has an obiedent nature to her when it comes to prayers, etc. While I know we all believe in different things...there is one thing that can not be denied....God lives and you can see this in my little girl's eyes. I hope as she gets older, she knows how much she is loved. I only hope that I am a good enough mother for her and that I do enough stuff with her/for her.

Beach Pictures

Emily is getting ready for the beach... shes a "super-star"

YEAH.... this is so fun!

Daddy brought endless buckets of water to Emily after her feet got blisters

(blisters and salt water is not a good combination!)

Emily and Mommy at the Ripley's Aquarium. EMILY LOVED being there.... probably didnt hurt that on the way to SC, Emily saw "Finding Nemo" for the first time.

YUMMY! SAND! Tastes gritty mommy!

The beach was a BIG HIT! Emily, Canio and I had a great time. We went to Pawley's Island/Litchfield Beach SC and it was a great place for families. Emily slept great at the beach. She ate awful though...until we went to Bubba Gumps in Charleston, SC. We did some shopping, we did some touring but most of all, we really loved spending time at the beach. There really are too many stories to tell!

New Edition to our Family

We have a new edition to our family. She will join us on Thursday. We haven't named her yet...but are taking suggestions. (Do to the rain we have had and the terrible downpour that happened when we went to test drive it...I suggest...Noah) Unfortunately, we will also be holding last rites for El Kia piece of Krappa. The green Kia which survived much longer than anyone expected, 5.5 yrs, will finally be sent to that big auction block in the sky (well really...we don't know where it is going). We would say Kia piece of Krappa led a good life.... considering she was born in the south...saw some beautiful snow storms...and toured many a state; however, she was so sickly we are certain she didn't like the work out. So with a very fond goodbye...we bid her good riddance. Memorial checks can be mailed to us (as we need them to pay for her COSTLY funeral). Also...there IS major flooding (like it will probably make your evening news) in this area, but so far we are unharmed...a damp, but not leaking basement and a very soggy yard. The garden is another story...I cant say for sure that it will make it (not kidding). Several cities are flooding so we would ask that you would keep your prayers open to the locals in this area. This happened just 2 short years ago and here we go again.

And now...PRAY to stop the rain in SC...we are 1.5 wks away from vacation and worried the weather may SUCK. Our vacation last year was plagued with cold (highs in the 60s) and rain (not like the Noah rain we have now,but still enough not to do stuff outside). And no whammy no whammy no whammies (um...otherwise known as the "H" word...hurricane)

Well off for now :-) PEOPLE STAY IN CONTACT WITH US!

1, 2, 3

Emily can COUNT! Yes, she can! She can count to 4. Her new words are now sentences.... my favorite is... Bye bye..see you morrow. (Which I think she means, see you later). And Be quiet, sleeping. (when she sees someone with their eyes closed). Recently I have checked out myspace.com and have found one old school friend... one old church friend... one old boyfriend (and sooo happy he's "old" if you catch the drift)... and one old missionary. Its so neat to find my old friends. My school friend lives in NC (isnt that ironic because I moved from NC). She has a baby now too. My church friend doesnt go to church anymore (I doubt it...she looks like life has been rough...but she has 2 kids) and my old missionary friend seems as crazy as ever! In other news.... The garden is in....with about 18 tomatoe plants (3 kinds), 18 onions, 6 romaine lettuce, 5 leaf lettuce, 20 or so carrots, 5 green pepper plants, about 12 green beans and about 6-8 peas, 2 squash, 2 watermelon, and 4 cucumbers. So far so good, though we did loose some plants to a hail storm we had about 3 wks ago. We go to the beach (YEAH) in 2 1/2 weeks. I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO excited. Please pray for no hurricanes. We could REALLY use the vacation. Im so excited to be going back to SC. Canio has been very busy with work...and so have I. I have the need to "spring" clean the basement. This should be fun. And finally, I am trying to loose weight... I have 25 I want to loose... Ive lost 3. Keep in touch!

Picture updates

Emily on Memorial Day (red outfit) We hosed her down. Not long after this, we striped her down to her diaper. She got a big kick out of it! It was very hot that day. Memorial Day-- Poppy and Emily worked on watering the tree we planted last year. The tree has also been named Emily. (Trees are named in the Costanzo Family). MMMMMM yummy... spaghetti~! She's wearing more than she is eating! Isnt she just so darn cute? Another very hot day...and Emily is trying to fit into Mommy's shoes!

Family Update

Three weeks ago Emily learned a new word-- Help (says it like Holp). So we were grocery shopping and Emily likes to snack while we shop. So I normally get dried fruit to let her munch on. She had eaten about 1/2 the bag so I took it from her. She got upset and started saying HOLP HOLP HOLP to this old lady passing. The old lady stopped and asked Emily what was wrong. I told the lady she wanted more fruit and she had eaten enough already and turned back to reading labels. The lady gave me a look as if to say "you child abuser" and stomped off. Two days earlier we had been in to get some odds and ends and Emily had thrown a true toddler temper tantrum (shoes went flying off... her hair bow gone....everyone sweating...) On Thursday May 18 Emily got a piece of the cat food (dental diet balls) and ate it before I could pry her mouth open. TOTALLY grossed me out! On Friday May 19 she went to do it again. I told her no and moved her. 2 min later, she was back at the cat food. So I slapped her hand, said no no and moved her. She instantly went back so I pulled her diaper down and gave her a little pat on the butt. Her face wrinkled up and she let out a squawk and ran to the living room. We are going on one week and she hasn't gone NEAR the cat food. I took Emily to the doc on Tuesday of this week (22nd) for a diaper rash that was getting worse. Poor kid... I told them about the butt and that she had sniffles. Who would have guessed she had a staph infection on her butt, a sinus infection, and her very first ear infection! She's been miserable but considering all that...She's still been a great kid! We have gotten Emily to eat baby carrots (the extra thin kind)... wanna know how? We told her it was candy. Hehehe. She had her first lollipop last Sunday. One of those safety pops. What a mess. And she has started to watch movies. Well, I should say... ONE movie. We watch Monsters Inc (the Disney flick) but only from the part where the little girl, Boo, is in the movie and only until the bad monster (Randall) steals her. Canio and I both agree that Emily acts and reminds us of Boo. We think that maybe her nickname. Although, I do call her ChiChi a lot. In bad news.... my dad was hospitalized late Friday night with chest pains. On Monday we found out that all his arteries except for one is 100% blocked. They couldn't do the stints so open heart by pass is the only option. His surgery will be done on Tuesday, barring any complications before then. They had to wait 5 days before doing the surgery because he was given a blood thinner and so they wait. I will be driving out for the surgery. Canio then got a ticket on Monday. (Can you say insurance hike). And we think our water heater is going bad. Geeze, that's it... I think... but then again... Isn't that enough? Oh wait... on Friday night Brennon (my sisters little boy) was taken to the ER because he was having a SEVERE allergic reaction to some medicine he was taking. Oh Yeah... and my brother was told they are retiring him early from the Nat'l Guard (but he cant collect his pension until he is 60... so that means a financial hardship on him). Ok, NOW that's all. Ending on a positive note.... I started planting the garden this week. I had started plants indoors about 2 wks ago... but now I am working on the outside. Its rained a lot here lately and its gonna rain for the next 3 days again... Speaking of garden... pictures will post soon of Emily playing in the garden dirt. It was in her hair, ears, clothes, shoes, etc. But she had a great time playing with it. To our friends and family... we miss you all and hope to be in personal contact with all of you soon. (HINT HINT).

Photos! From Easter

Just another Manic Monday

Where does the time go. Tomorrow is May 1st. Sometimes I feel like life is so fleeting. Yet, in the next moment, time seems to stand still. Emily and I have both been sick since Wednesday. I think she is getting better, but somehow I am still pretty sick. We had our first fever scare with her and her seizures last weekend, but thank GOD (literally) she made it through without a seizure. The image of her having a seizure will forever be burned into my memory and I am in no hurry to repeat it. We started doing some projects around the house. I worked on the garden a little bit. I also painted the upstairs bathroom a pale green color last Sunday. Turned out pretty good for my first time painting a room. Our neighbors gave us their kids old swing set for Emily. So we sanded the rust today and I began to primer it. We will repaint it and try to keep it nice for a few more years. This head cold is really kicking my butt. Ever see the show Grays Anatomy? I love it! But they do a narrative over some opening and closing scenes of the show. I have this running narrative about my own life. It goes on inside and sometimes I just have to chuckle about life. For example... Why do I like blowing bubbles so much and why didn't I figure this out until I had Emily. However sometimes this narrative takes up too much hard-drive space (hehe..computer joke, get it?) and I am left with this weird, wondering look. The new job is just that... a new job. Lots of adjustments. Not bad, but not good either. I guess I remember just how blah insurance is. I mean it is kinda cool cuz there is always something different, but I have never "loved" working for a direct writer so learning to love this company will take some time. I also don't like that the boss changed my hrs after I accepted the job. Lately, with money tight, I regret past decisions with regard to my education. I think I would make a good OB nurse. It would pay better... Or sometimes I fantasize about writing. I do enjoy that and I wish I would make more time for myself to do it on a more formal basis. But alas, there is always laundry to do, toys to pick up or ewe...bills to pay. Canio is doing pretty good at his new job. He and his dad watched a few hrs of the NFL draft this weekend. I think he enjoyed some one on one time. Emily is copying everything now. Canio told her to say "hi jerry" and she did! She has also been pretending to sneeze saying aaaa chew. Its cute. And she is trying to sing some of the words to Hey Victor (a Laurie Berkner song). She asked for pizza for dinner tonight--- the first time she has ever done that. She plays ring a round the roses.....loves air planes all of a sudden... and has grown attached to a teddy bear she got at my baby shower from someone that worked at Kemper (my previous job). She hugs it and carries it around. And when we pray she will fold her arms now (but wont keep them folded). She had sacrament at church for the first time today 4/30/06. She is still pottying but not liking it as much. If she wants to go, I take her... otherwise, I let her go in the diaper. On a walk with Daddy in the back yard today, she tried to eat a dandelion. MMM yummy. Bugs and all I am sure. Don't worry -- he got it off of her. We have tons of pictures to post, but honestly, its late and I am tired. Happy May 1st! May your May be filled with Flowers! PS----- I will make one political statement..... RIGHT, EMAIL, CALL your congress person and tell them you are SICK of high gas prices and try to use a little less gas over the next few weeks. Otherwise, I may just have to sell my car to pay for gasoline for Canio's car! Right now his gas bill equals about 1/2 of his car payment a month. IKES. And I complained about gas being 1.85/gallon when Emily was born.

HAPPY EASTER

We had a very good Easter. For the first time in 25 years my entire family was together. My mom and dad, my brother, Dickie, my sister Kass, my sister Jen and her family (hubby and two kids), Canio and I and Emily! We met at my dad's house and had a luncheon -- the kids got some gifts, we took a photo, and then the kids played outside. We parted ways at around 4pm. We went back to Punxsy to my sisters and had some pizza. We went to church on Sunday at my old church. It was fun to see everyone and catch up. Its funny how some people didn't age a day (especially all the people who were over 50 to start with) and how the younger ones are now the middle aged ones and the teenagers (like I was) were just Emily's age when I left. That's a little confusing to read ... sorry. Emily got a TON of things. Photos to follow. Easter started the week before when we had dinner with Canios family for Palm Sunday. My mom was here as she was watching Emily M-F from April 3rd-15. I had to work full time to attend a binding authority class for Allstate. I start work in the Allstate office on Tuesday. Anyone who needs a quote on home/auto please give me a call. My mom was great with Emily and Emily misses her. My mom got Emily to say Yeah when she wants to say yes (instead of just shaking her head). Phonetically Emily says Yee-aaah. Its ADORABLE! And the biggest news about my mom coming to stay is that she quit smoking while she was here!! We are all so very proud of her. Emily said A B C today. We got her magnetic ABC's for the fridge. Canio showed her a few times and wal-laa she has it already. Emily is also saying so many new words we have lost count but we know it is upwards of 60+ and growing by 2-5 words every day. She is also using the potty very good for a 17 month old. (She turned 17 mo today---so really she has been a 16 mo old). She will pee on the potty --especially if you set down and pee first. She will poop if you catch her squatting down to poop. While we were out of town this weekend, she went into my dad's bathroom and said... Potty. Its UNREAL how smart she is. In very sad news, a cousin of Canio's father (at least I think that is the relation) lost their 2 yr old on Sunday. She had been battling cancer and lost that fight Sunday. My heart has been ripped out just thinking about this family. I think because I have little Emily and they are similar in age... I know the love they had for their baby. And I cant imagine the actual pain they must be feeling. So, I would ask you all to please pray for this young family. Pray for the lovely little spirit of their daughter, and pray for the grandparents. I have been affected by this death in moreso than my own grandmothers. But I do find peace in my faith that this is not the end for that little girl. And I know her spirit had to have been pure for our Father to call for her to come home at such a tender age. Not the best way to end....but please know from our family to yours... Happy Easter! Photos to follow in the coming days. Don't forget you can make "comments" on these postings and then it emails me directly. Here is a cool link we found (my favorite comedian) http://frankcaliendo.com/index.php Everything cool about church clipart http://lds.about.com/od/clipartart/

WE HAVE POTTY USAGE!

YES SHE DID IT!!!!! TODAY, 3/27/06, EMILY POOPED ON THE POTTY!!! She did this about 4pm. This came after setting her on the potty about 2 times earlier in the day. When Canio and I went out of town to Atlantic City (which by the way was a lot of fun despite a cold drizzly kinda weekend). Mary Claire (aka Nana---Canios mom) set her on the potty. Anyways, I asked Emily if she had to potty. I dont think she knows exactly when she needs to go yet. AND I DONT WANT TO FORCE HER! But she sat down to poop (as she always does), I said... Do you need to go to the potty?" She shook yes, so I ran to the bathroom with her. When she was done, we wiped and she got to flush the toilet. She was so proud. And ofcourse I ewed and awed for 5 minutes and gave her some gummy treats. About an hour or so later, when Daddy was home she sat down to poop again. I grabbed her and ran to the potty, sat her on it. She pooped and then she peed!!!! We praised her over and over again. Then she flushed! Could she be potty training for real? Its so cute because she sets and looks at magazines when she is on the potty...just like daddy hehehe. Shes a little girl now. I cant believe that happened! I must have blinked and it just happened behind my back I guess. When we got home from AC, Emily was sleeping (must to my saddness). But when she woke up she was SO happy to see us. But she looked SO much bigger to me! Everything else is going well. I accepted a position at a local insurance agency. I start training April 3rd. My mom will be coming out that wkend and will watch Emily for us for the 2 wks that I have to work 9-5, M-F. Then we will spend Easter in Punxsy www.punxsutawney.com. Then I will come home and on Easter Monday start my new job. It is 1.5 miles from my house. I will work Monday and Tuesday and maybe Thur 5-7pm. Until the Library can find a replacement for me though, I have offered to work 2 evenings and all day Saturday (or 15hr/wk however you figure it) . YES I WILL BE DRAGGING...not to mention really missing Emily. However, we are going to SC this summer with Canio's family to Pawleys Island and would otherwise have no spending money. At least with this month or so of lots of work, we should be able to save it to take with us. Well, Im tired....got lots of work this week, to prepare for the coming weeks. Wish me luck and pray for me.

Emily had a friend, Riley, over for the afternoon on Sunday March 5th. She was just having a little cheese. Like the dress? Emily had just waved bye bye to daddy and was watching him leave for work. We were getting ready to go out to the library. She loves the front door. Snow DAY! Emily played in the snow that we got last Thursday, March 3rd Girly Girl Emily was playing with mommy...it was a day at Spa de Mommy.

St. Patrick Day PHOTOS

The first picture is of me and Emily riding on the float. Nana Costanzo is walking beside the float with her mask on too! The next picture is of one of the lawyers (in Canio's father's lawfirm) little girl. She was feeding Emily chereos that she "stole" off of another kid. The next is a picture of Emily smiling after being out all day on the float. The next one is of Emily getting excited that Katie was feeding her the chereos. The next one is of Poppy Costanzo trying to hold Emily on the float. Emily is a little shy when it comes to him. She likes to play with him from a distance. It is my personal feeling that she is afraid of his glasses, but who knows. Emily was in the very large Scranton St. Patricks Day parade. They said 100,000 people watched on the street! Emily had her Mardi Gras beads and her green. She fell asleep waiting for the parade to start...we got to the lawfirm office around 10:20 and the float finally started moving about 1:15 and finished around 2pm. Needless to say we were ALL exhausted when it was over. Emily woke up Sunday morning vomiting. After a trip to the doctor, it was confirmed that she had a stomach virus and we should just feed her clear liquids and could try apples and soup later on. She perked up later in the day, but then overnight last night, she threw up again. She is alittle (just a LITTLE) whiny and clinging to us, but for the most part she is good considering she is sick. We can also see her bottom right eye tooth (also called canine....the pointy one) is starting to poke threw! After 4 months of drooling over that tooth! Emily has also been going to the infant story time of the Osterhout Free Library in Wilkes Barre. A great time for sure. They sing songs, have puppets, and read books. Emily enjoys playing with her group friends too! We are getting SPRING FEVER! Snow snow go away, come back another year!

SHE WALKED

SHE WALKED! FIRST SHE TOOK 4 STEPS TO ME AND THEN SHE DID IT AGAIN. A FEW MINUTES LATER SHE TOOK ABOUT 7 STEPS!!! Emily had her 15 mo check up on Monday 2/28. She weighed 22.4 lbs and was 31.5 in long (if they got her "right" because Emily was screaming and I think her leg was bent a little.) Her head stayed at 18.5" which basically means her head is still too big for any hats that are "supposed" to fit her---even though 18.5 is just about the 60th percentile. He said she looked good and was growing beautifully. Ironically he told us that she would probably start walking within this month, if not this week. She got two shots and was a GREAT little girl. In other big news, (I've held off on this because I didnt want to jinx it) But Emily broke herself of the bottle. She used to need it to go to sleep, but not anymore. For the last week she has gone to sleep within 10 minutes and it only takes us giving her a binkie to suck on and one to play with, some soft music and a few minutes in the rocking chair. One night she wouldnt go right to sleep, so I just walked out and 20 minutes later she was asleep (with her feet dangling between the crib rails, but asleep nonetheless). She now drinks milk solely from her sippy cups. And for the last two weeks she has slept through the night 95% of the time. Although, a cute thing happened last night. She started to cry and Canio got up to do "binkie patrol". When he got in there she held up her hand that she had weaved her fingers through the holes of the blanket and proclaimed...."Stuck". Canio unstuck her and some 30 minutes later she went back to sleep. Some new words are Block (said perfectly), Boos (for Bubbles), and I think we forgot to mention: Cuck..for yuck. There are so many its hard to mention or remember them all. She also spent her first Sunday in the nursery class (for kids 18mo - 3 yrs---and yes since the class is so small our 15 mo olds--Emily and Riley can go in early). She played. She sat on a real chair and had a snack of goldfish crackers and water. She took the napkin that was supposed to serve as a plate, and wiped her hands with it. She also stole poor Michael's (the oldest kid 2 yr old) crackers. Wherever Michael is...or any older kid for that matter...little Emily smiles and nudges right next to them. She LOVES to play and be with other kids. She also got a headband with her favorite thing on it...a star! Canio takes her to this because I am busy teaching the 9-10 yr old boys/girls Sunday school class. Canio made a BIG sale yesterday and was asked to be on a board of directors for non-profit organization. We have started to work out....but are still trying to figure out the best times to go. We'll keep you posted. Unfortunately because of Emily we can not go together...but it is ok. Alright, here are some pictures. First I was "doing" Emily's hair with the curlers she likes to play with and the second I was making dinner and she was watching Noggin's videos. I highly recommend http://www.noggin.com and http://www.nickjr.com and http://www.playhousedisney.com and finally http://www.seasameworkshop.org/seasamestreet. They are Emily's favorites. You can play games there, play music, watch shows, and read stories.

We have our first SENTENCE!

Emily said her first sentence. NO SIT. We brought up a bench that I had gotten 10 yrs ago. Its the perfect size for her.. She wanted to stand on it and I told her No Standing. Sit down. After a few times of saying this, she said NO SIT. NO SIT! She is copying a lot of the words we use. The list is getting too long to count. No is her favorite. But literally if you repeat a word to her several times, she will try (although not all that great) to repeat. And she offically became mommys little helper yesterday too (2/20/06). She took the clean clothes out of the dryer and put them in a basket. Then she took the wet clothes out of another basic and put it in the dryer and finally put the dirty clothes in the washer (with help from me--I held her up). It was GREAT. It took a ton longer but was just fun to have her near me. She's also been letting us hold her to read or to watch tv...which I am sure this will change as she gets older. Oh and she's figured out how to finally push her walker around and manuever it around objects. Still not walking on her own but getting closer.

Happy Valentines Day

We had a nice Valentines Day. I started my new job (and like it so far). I got Canio the same type of gift that I got him 5 yrs ago.... movie in a bag... I got him a movie, popcorn, and candy. I also got him a pen that lights up. Emily and I made Daddy a picture album and a valentine. Canio went all out this year. He hid these little heart people figurines around the house and I had to find them. Once I found them all, he gave me my gift... tickets to an atlantic city comedy show and an hotel for that night so we can sight see. By far the best Valentines Day gift I have ever received. We then took Emily to Picture people to get her photo taken. They turned out GREAT! Here is the one we got the 10x13 of. She is a cutie!

Today we woke up to skunk smell...although it was tough to decide thats what it was... so after calling a few family members we decided to call the fire company and we were told to leave the house... .just as we were doing that....our neighbor came out and said he had the same smell... so it had to be a skunk. The firefighter said they have had a ton of calls about this.

Then Emily tumbled down the stairs. She has a brush burn on her nose and a bump on her head but she is OK!!! Shes too darn quick at the stairs and I didnt get to her in time. But she is resting and doing ok. Then I made lunch for myself and scalded my left hand. BOY O BOY.

Hope you had a nice Valentines Day too.

Pictures of Emily

My thoughts on Sleepless Nights....

There is something magical when your child falls asleep in your arms in the middle of the night. When the darkness falls round the room like a thick, soft blanket and the world stands still from its hectic pace; when nothing seems to matter more than being right there, right now. In the dark quiet, the only sounds you hear are the creaking of the rocking chair, the faint melody of a lullaby, and the sweet little gasps from your baby. Such comfort I have found when I feel my child’s warm breath on my cheek. William Wordsworth wrote, “My heart leaps up when I behold a rainbow in the sky.” Well, my heart leaps up when I am alone with my baby in the still of the night. When I know that she just needs to know that I am there, that she needs to be held tight, that she needs to hear my heart beating and that she needs to know that I live for her. There are many things I may forget about in the course of my child growing up. I am sure there will be memories that seep away like water leaking from the faucet. Nevertheless, one thing I know is that I will never be able to forget the peace that I found, no matter how tired I was or what the day had brought, when it was just she and I in her room, rocking and snuggling. Time stands still. The night does not grow old. While I dreaded the cry that brought me to her, somehow, as she drifts off to sleep, I can’t bring myself to put her back in her bed right away. I know these times will pass. I know that one day, one day before I know it, she will no longer need me to comfort her back to sleep. I know that one day soon the serenity that comes from the tranquil melody of the rocking chair will no longer be heard. One day she will grow up. But for now, I treasure the times that I am blessed with to be able to grow closer to my baby. I cherish the peaceful bond that forms in the middle of a sleepless night. I relax with the warm of her little body and feeling her nestle her head on my chest. For in those wonderful times, I thank the Lord for the blessing of motherhood.

GO STEELERS!

Emily was prepared for the Superbowl... she was dressed in yellow and black! She clapped with us except for one time she did get a little scared as we cheered! Take a look....

Feb 3 - Emily stuff

Well yesterday (2/2) Emily was standing at one of the kitchen chairs and came out with "Chair." Totally blew me away because I did not know that she even KNEW that word. She proceeded to go straight to the cat food to dump it all over the floor, in my moment of awe that she could say that. Today we tried drawing with crayons again. Only I couldnt find those big fat ones that we have so I gave her the normal sized ones. She loved them. She just kept scribbling and wanting to change colors. Its cool to see her progress. I am trying to do one art project a week (at least) with her. I want her to be well-rounded. Next week we are going to try glue. I will have to take pictures. I have a feeling this could go worse than the finger paint. We went to Kauffmans to get her some clothes for summer/spring since we had a merchandise credit. She was SOOOOOOOO good at the mall. She ate McDonalds (even though we swore she never would eat fast food before age 2). She had two nuggets and a bag of apple slices. Shes not real big on the nuggets. We also got her Gymboree Bubbles - a MUST HAVE for any baby. The bubbles are made with a sugar base (so they are non-toxic and last a long time---we found 2 left over from last night on the table this morning). Emily loves them. To pop them to chase them to watch them.... its great. Oh, and we figured out how to get Emily to take her meds without crushing them.... we hide them in pieces of bannana and she really gobbles it down. Well dirty diaper alert. Gotta help daddy. (My work is never done!)

New Photos

HAPPY GROUNDHOG'S DAY

Happy Groundhog's Day everyone!!!

Punxsy Phil saw his shadow and predicted 6 more weeks of MILD winter. We all KNEW that was coming though, didnt we? The above picture is Bill Deeley. I went to school with his oldest daughter, Beth. When we were in elementary school we were very good friends and I can say that Mr. and Mrs. Deeley are two very nice people. He owned (or owns) one of the biggest funeral homes in Punxsy....anyways...

Here is Phil's prediction verbatim:

Phil Says Six More Weeks of Winter! Phil's official forecast as read 2/2/06 at sunrise at Gobbler's Knob: It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.Around the country there are many imitators of me. In Harrisburg there is Gus who appears on TVworking for the lottery. Then all around town,Cute groundhog statues abound.They all look like me, I found. Today on the Knob as I'm doing my job,I don't like this likeness of me. It's my shadow I see. Six more weeks of mild winter there will be. (taken from www.punxsutawney.org)

I love today! Thursdays are nice anyways. We may have to take Emily to this when she gets a few years older.

Well thats all from here. Playdate was at our house yesterday (oh my god what a mess my house was when everyone left...ikes) Then we had dinner guest.... what a busy day.

OOOOOO I am leaving the osterhout free library and going to work at the Hoyt library as an acquisitions clerk (I will order new books for the library and get them ready for circulation). It pays more and NO MORE nights/weekends. But I am REALLY going to miss the people at the Osterhout. They were so friendly to me and I have made some great friends and hope to continue my friendships. I will now work with a lady I go to church with.

Ok Emily wants to type something..... mm jv j nmcc cn fokj jjkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk mb nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn2122k k gklofvldov; miokjkjnjnfjn,mg,kbnbbnjhbb

I've discovered a new type of exercise...

I just did an amazing workout.... you'll never guess.... it was a little of weight training and a little cardiovascular.... Emily and I went to the playground! Its sunny and warm here!! I lugged her all over that place, walking her here and there... pushing on this...etc. She went down the slide AT LEAST 30 times.... so that is lifting 25-28lbs over my head. Then she found a little friend named Jacob who was really friendly to her. He went through this tube thing so that he could go down the big slide. Well guess what? Emily followed him, which meant I followed them. Half way through Emily decides she doesnt really want to go the rest of the way, and somehow jams us inside for a few minutes. Luckily, we got out. :-) So then we stopped to wash daddy's muddy, salt-covered car. I discovered after I had all the soap on the car, that Emily was screaming bloody murder... apparently not a fan of the high-power water wash. After I finished some 4 minutes and a million quarters later, I got back in the car and soothed her. Her eyes were puffy the poor thing. She fell asleep on the way home (with no lunch) so she will skip lunch today I guess, seeing that it is 3pm now. She did have a cheese stick. She hasnt eaten much today so she should eat a lot tonight. Ever see Gerbers serving suggestions? Its a joke... my kid eats what they suggest for a days worth of food by 4pm. Oh, and incase you are wondering...still not walking. Talking lots and lots. But thats it. And while it would be convienant sometimes to have her walking, I personally am thinking this is a blessing. I need to veg out til she wakes up. So if you need a real great work-out, come borrow my kid and take her to the playground for an hour.

Website

We have a VERY basic website. I am trying out new "free" things and here is a quicky that I had found. It is www.costanzos.bravehost.com Hope you enjoy. Emily went to play group yesterday and then to Gymboree (I had an interview there to teach some classes part time). She played really hard and really loved it! Too bad its too expensive to send her there. We started doing our taxes..what a nightmare. Why cant the Gov. just bill us how much we owe each year and they do all the computing! Well, I guess if they did it...we would be paying much much more. Off to work...its an ER night....my favorite show! Today should be a good night

Emily's New Do

Emily's got a new hair-do that I love. You are really going to think she is adorable now! WOW she is really getting big. I just realized how fun it will be to play with her gorgeous hair!