Mike & Shelby

One Way Or Another

Piper brought with her a case of gestational diabetes. Sugar readings at a 38.5-week sonogram convinced the doctors to try to induce. Due to the previous C-section, a full-on induction would risk rupturing Shelby's uterus, so things had to be taken slowly, but started with a balloon catheter. Just like with Abbica, the balloon worked to 3cm, then stalled at 5cm, then with the looming threat of C-section, jumped to 10cm and a crowning head in minutes.

All things considered, this was the best birth yet, and a vbac to boot

Stop Taking Pictures

So, when you start your day at 8am with a bag of pitocin and a stubborn uterus, you have to occupy your time somehow. I took surprise pictures of Shelby!

June 7, 2007 8:10

Just Waiting

Seriously, it is a long day. The C-Section of Isabella meant that Shelby couldn't go on forever like with the first 2, but we just did not know what to expect this time around. Technically, she is a week early, but the gestational diabetes kind of forced our hand today. All we can do is hope and pray.

... and wait ...

June 7, 2007 11:15

Listen, you!

Ok. I'll stop.

June 7, 2007 11:15

Introducing . . .

Cleaning Up

on June 7, 2007 at 11:53pm, Shelby delivered a beatiful baby girl with ~~dark~~ ~~red~~ ~~dark~~ dark red hair!

June 8, 2007 00:06

Dr. Stokes

I guess this is the difference when you have a doctor who knows your history. Around 9:00pm last night, I asked him what would be the cutoff time for a C-Section. He said that since she seemed stuck for the last 5 hours, technically, he could call it a day already, but he wanted to see the results of the internal monitor first.

June 8, 2007 00:13

Weighing

Wow, we sure do make 'em small! Only Abbica was smaller and she was three weeks early.

Usually, it is said that with each successive delivery, the baby gets bigger. It is also said that gestational diabetes produces large babies.

I'm not sure why they say that, nor am I sure who they are

June 8, 2007 00:13

Height: 18 inches
Weight: 6 lbs, 12.7 oz

Is My Nose Big?

Well.... she asked!

And then she wouldn't let me take a picture of it!

June 8, 2007 00:25

New Baby Kiss

What could be a sweeter picture than that of Mommy kissing Baby? The love and beauty resonates from the pair like sunshine from a beam through the window in your living room.

uhh... ok, so it was the only picture she would let me post of her.

June 8, 2007 00:26

So . . . You're My Mom?

"Thank you for taking care of me so well for those 9 months. I couldn't have asked for a better womb. Now, gimme the goods; I'm hungry!"

June 8, 2007 00:28

Bathtime

Ok, so this was during her bath. She needed to get that slimy white stuff cleaned off of her so that she looked more like a little person. Though, I have to say that I'm really not too comfortable with the way she's holding Piper there. Of course, instead of saying something . . . , I took a picture.

June 8, 2007 1:44

Pull My Finger

Do you really need me to say anything about this one?

June 8, 2007 1:52

Clean Baby

This is probably the best photo of her from the day. She is content and beautiful.

June 8, 2007 1:54

Paperwork

I mean, seriously, hasn't she been through enough?

They couldn't find someone else to do this?

Hasn't she lost enough sleep?

Really, though! Doesn't this kid have another parent?

June 8, 2007 10:22

Hailey

This is Hailey's second time as big sister and she's loving every minute of it.

June 8, 2007 12:30

Big Sisters

This is such a cute picture of two big sisters loving over their newest sibling. Abbica just feels so grown up and sometimes acts like it's her baby!

June 8, 2007 12:33

Nonna

My mom brought all the girls to visit today so that they could meet Piper. The hardest part really was taking turns, with Isabella as the turn monitor. They all just love to dote all over the new bundle.

While my Mom was in town, she took care of all 3 of the other kids for almost 3 full days. Now that takes guts!

She was able to give Shelby and I time alone with the new baby in her first hours of life, and that is something we will always appreciate.

June 8, 2007 12:49

Isabella

Isabella was very cute. She loved all over Piper and even sang songs to her.

"Do you like Piper?" I asked.

"Yes," she replied.

"Do you want to take her home with us?"

"No!"

"Why not?"

"'Cause"

June 8, 2007 13:46

Bathtime

Per tradition, Shelby gave the new baby a bath before time to go home.

June 9, 2007 11:17

Dressed Up

All dressed up and ready to go in a frilly dress for the drive.

June 9, 2007 11:34

Ready To Go Home

Well . . . . Here we go. Time to go home.

June 9, 2007 12:24

Welcome Home

Stork

We never got a photo of our family in front of the stork this time, but we do have 4 of these bundles hanging in the toy room.

June 9, 2007 15:56

Al & Estella

We asked Al & Estella to be Piper's Godparents.

June 9, 2007 22:28

Lynn

Lynn came over every day to see Piper. When she left, she always took 2 or 3 kids with her!! Heck, she even took Abbica and Hailey to the pool (along with her own 3).

June 11, 2007 22:30

Gabby

This is Lynn's daughter, Gabby.

June 9, 2007 14:19

Luke

Lynn's youngest, Luke, was funny. He saw everyone else asking to hold the baby, so of course he also asked. When he got to hold her, he kind of looked around like "I don't get it. What's the big deal?"

June 11, 2007 12:33

Spikey Hair

"Daddy Does My Hair"

I'm still not sure what color it is going to be. Perhaps dark with red hilights?

June 13, 2007 22:27

That Face

Check out that face! She is a little jaundice and Dr. Peacock wants to keep an eye on her. We just need to keep her in the sunlight.

June 14, 2007 23:20

Zia Franca & Zia Lella

07/15/2007

Flag Dresses

06/17/2007

Uncle Joe

06/17/2007

Nonno

06/17/2007

Poppop

06/19/2007

Uncle Sammy

06/19/2007

Ma-Ma & Poppop

06/19/2007

Big Red Dress

06/21/2007

Jessica

06/25/2007

Aunt Kristen

07/03/2007

4 Babies Cake

Shelby made this cake for Dr. Stokes. He has delivered all 4 of our beautiful girls.

07/25/2007

Bruni

08/02/2007

GGMom

08/05/2007

Grandgirls

. . . And Piper makes 6

08/05/2007

Blue Dress

08/05/2007

Paris

I Love Your Hair

08/05/2007

Smiles

The picture is a bit fuzzy. We'll have to try to get a better one.

08/07/2007

Don't Let Go

Bella loves holding Piper, but after about 45 seconds, she lifts her hands and says, "done."

08/07/2007

Height: 22in
Weight: 10lbs, 4oz.

The Ocean

She loves getting her feet wet and digging them into the sand.

08/26/2007

The Waiting Game

Welcome to the Birthing Inn

Loudoun Hospital calls their birthing area The Birthing Inn. They had room at the Inn, so I'm not expecting to see any wisemen.
We registered as Mr. and Mrs. . . . Smith.

The Nurse's Station

The nurse's station is just outside our room. These people are wonderful. This has got to be the most bestest staff of RNs and Midwives any couple could dream of having.

The Baby Nursery

The baby nursery. The babies only spend a maximum of 1/2 hour in here. They all the rest of the time with their parents.

The sign above our door

We ended up coming to the Birthing Inn a lot during the pregnancy, and usually stayed in Triage 2. Eventually, one of the nurses made this sign and hung it on the Triage 2 door when we were on our way in! So, we kept it and posted it on our LDRP door.

The LDRP Room

The LDRP. This is the room for L>/BD>/BR>/BP>/B

The Delivery Bed

The ever so comfortable Bed. ie, Shelby's home for 3 days!

Jessica

Jessica. This is Shelby's sister, who happened to be visiting when we got called in to the hospital. She's been a real trooper!

Shelby Resting

Shelby Laying in Bed, resting. Obviously, she was not pleased with my taking this picture.
BUT... look at her hands. Then look at this pic!

Up And About

When Shelby needed to get up and about, she had all this stuff to take with her. They had her wired good!

Shelby Online

Just can't keep her offline.

The New Baby

Dog Tired

After 4 days, Shelby is pretty darn tired. But it was all so well worth it.

07/29/2000 17:12

Daddy

No longer a 'Daddy-to-bee'

07/29/2000 17:23

Mommy's Discovery

Shelby unwraps and discovers her beautiful baby.

07/29/2000 17:24

Mommy

Shelby and her newly cleaned baby.

07/29/2000 17:09

The Proud Parents

The proud parents of Abbica Rose.

07/29/2000 17:13

Washing Hair

She really hated getting her hair washed!

07/29/2000 18:28

Drying Hair

You can see her beautiful red hair.

07/29/2000 16:48

The Curly Red Hair

Check out her cool hair. This was just after she had her hair washed and dried.

07/29/2000 18:30

Hair Spike

The nurse loved her curls so much, she styled them for the hospital photo.

07/29/2000 18:30

Baby Stretches

Abbica, fresh from the womb, stretches out her aching joints.

07/29/2000 16:58

Looking Around

I think she sees her Daddy!

07/29/2000 16:58

Baby Prepping

Prepping Abbica in the nursery.

07/29/2000 17:00

Reaching

She wants her Daddy!!

07/29/2000 16:49

Screaming

Oh, she's got some lungs on her. I think that goes along with the hair, though . . . .

07/29/2000 16:48

Lizard Queen

I am the Lizard Queen!

07/29/2000 17:01

Wassuuuup!!!

Watchin' my dad, havin' a boob.
True. True.

07/29/2000 18:41

The Cast

So many people showed up for the big day!

Aunt Benji

Shelby's older sister.

07/30/2000 14:25

Nonna

Mike's Mother

07/29/2000 20:11

GGMom

Mike's Grandmother.

07/29/2000 20:14

Great Mom-Mom

Shelby's Grandmother

07/29/2000 20:14

Aunt Jessie

Shelby's younger sister

07/29/2000 20:10

Ma-Ma

Shelby's Mother

07/29/2000 20:13

Nonno

Mike's Father

07/29/2000 20:15

Pop Pop

Shelby's Father

07/29/2000 20:16

Pop Pop & Nonno

Both Fathers

07/29/2000 20:16

Uncle Joe

Mike's Brother

07/29/2000 20:17

Uncle Sammy

Shelby's Brother

07/29/2000 20:18

Dr. Stokes

This was our doctor throughout. He's the one who came up with 'The Plan.'

07/30/2000 08:15

Wendy

Wendy delivered Abbica. She really hung in there with us.

09/13/2000 13:53

Margie

One of the midwives. Not the one who delivered, but she is wonderful and was around when we were admitted.

07/31/2000 07:16

Going Home

Wow! It's good to get home.

The Next Day: Mommy

Mommy holding her 16 hour old baby!

07/30/2000

The Next Day: Daddy

Abbica sleeping on Daddy the day after.

07/30/2000

Ready To Go Home

Abbica just got a bath and is dressed and ready to go home!

And if you didn't see it before, look at her hands. Then check out this pic!

07/31/2000

Going Home: Mommy

Mommy is all ready to take her beautiful angel home!

07/31/2000

The Stork News

This stork was waiting for us at our house.

She's So Cute!

Now the rest of the cute pictures

Itty Bitty

She's such an itty-bitty thing!

08/01/2000

Cutie Pie

She's such a Cutie-Pie!

08/02/2000

Purple

Abbica looks pretty good in Purple!

08/02/2000

Got Milk?

Sounds like another T-Shirt!

08/04/2000

Jabbin'

She's a boxer at heart.

08/11/2000

Don't Shoot!

I didn't do it!

08/12/2000

Flower Child

She looks like such a little flower.

08/12/2000

Who Knew?

I dunno, I dunno!

08/12/2000

Ummm

Guys . . . Just one question ___

08/12/2000

Shake, Shake, Shake

Shake your booty!

08/12/2000

Rosebud

08/13/2000

Rock On!

Givin' a shout out to all my homies!

08/13/2000

Kissy Face

08/20/2000

Gonna Squirt?

Awww, whatsa matta? Gonna squirt some?

08/20/2000

Matching Nightgowns

Mommy bought matching nightgowns. Can you tell who is who?

08/24/2000

Daddy's Birthday

Abbica turned 4 weeks old on Daddy's 324-month birthday!!

08/26/2000

1 Month Old

She's soo BIG!

08/29/2000

I'm Cool

Yeah. That's right! I'm cool.

08/29/2000

5 Weeks Old

Where does the time go?

09/02/2000

7 Weeks Old

Just got her checkup. She's 8 lbs, 6 oz! She grew 3 lbs in 4 weeks!

09/16/2000

Garcon?

How 'bout some milk over here?

September 16, 2000

Smiles

First time I've been able to capture one.

09/16/2000

8 weeks

Look at her hair!!!

09/22/2000

All Clean

I have some more of this bath [not pictured] . . . . Can we say Dating Blackmail?

09/23/2000

Ciao, Piacere

Nice to meet you!

09/25/2000

2 Months

09/29/2000

9 Weeks

Another Week, almost another pound! She's 9 lbs, 4 oz.

09/30/2000

Such A Lady

That's My Girl

09/30/2000

10 Weeks

9 lbs, 6 oz

10/07/2000

11 Weeks

10/16/2000

Go 'Skins!!

All ready for the big game!

10/16/2000

12 Weeks

She's getting so big!!
And she's got such good taste.

10/22/2000

Two Jesters

Ready for Halloween

10/27/2000

Halloween Girls

Abbica Rose Biancaniello - Pea Pod
Carmen Elisa Horner - Banana Pumpkin Head

10/31/2000

3 Months

10 lbs, 6 oz

11/01/2000

15 Weeks!!

What? You gotta problem wit'dat?

11/13/2000

4 Generations

11/18/2000

25 Years

Every 25 years, a child was born
GGMom - 75 years
Nonna - 50 years
Mommy - 25 years
Baby - newborn

11/18/2000

Head's Up

Starting to pick up her head

11/18/2000

First Meal

Her first encounter with real food

11/18/2000

Santa

First trip to see Santa!

11/18/2000

First Sips

Her first drink from a cup!

11/24/2000

17 Weeks

11 lbs, 4 oz
SHE ROLLED OVER TODAY

11/25/2000

4 Months

Happy Birthday

11/29/2000

Holding A Cup

She loves drinking from a cup.

11/29/2000

Laughing At Daddy

She sure loves her Daddy!

12/14/2000

20 Weeks

12 lbs, 6 oz

12/16/2000

Squash

She actually liked it!

12/21/2000

Aunt Kristen

This is Mike's sister, Kristen.
Now, she really did show up 5 months ago on the day Abbica was born. In fact, she drove all the way from Baltimore that night. We, uhhh, well, just didn't take any pictures.

12/24/2000

Dave & Kristen

Mike's sister and her husband on Christmas Eve

12/24/2000

First Christmas

She was a bit overwhelmed

12/25/2000

It's A Wig!

I just couldn't decide which one I liked best

12/26/2000

5 Months

12/30/2000

Eating Daddy's Nose

CHOMP!

01/03/2001

23 Weeks

She's starting to roll over
and over and over and over

01/07/2001

Pears

She didn't seem to like the pears

01/07/2001

Uncle Bill

Mike's Uncle and Godfather and Abbica's Godfather

01/07/2001

6 Months

13 lbs, 6 oz
She started giving the Rasberry!

01/29/2001

Sitting Up

She can sit up now, for a minute or so (then she falls over).

01/29/2001

27 Weeks!

Who, me? You shouldn't have!

02/03/2001

Mouse Ears

Disneyland, Paris!
Yup, while in Paris, we had to take a daytrip to Disneyland.

02/22/2001

7 Months

She is such a ham! She just started pulling herself up from sitting to standing both in the tub and on the coffee table! Also, she figured out how to move forward in her walker. Now, she is all over the place.

Not quite crawling yet, though. I think she knows what to do, but can't convince her body to do it. She can get up on her knees and rock, and sometimes lift a leg and look back as if to say, 'Hey, get with the program!'

02/28/2001

Tour Guide

And over here is where I stare out the window every day, waiting for Daddy to come home.

03/01/2001

What Cookie?

I didn't eat it.

03/02/2001

Kiss Me

Mommy, I want to give you a big cookie kiss!

03/02/2001

Jus' Chillin'

She's got a way of relaxing. She also started officially crawling today! Oh my, look out!!

03/17/2001

33 Weeks

15 Lbs, 26in.
She can crawl. She can pull herself up to standing both from a sitting position and from laying down.

03/18/2001

Lunging

I kept sitting her on the couch to take a picture. When she saw the camera, she would sit up straight and smile. But, as soon as I brought the camera up to my face, she would lunge at me!

03/18/2001

IMing

She's Daddy's Little Girl
'I just have to talk to my Daddy'

03/21/2001

8 Months

She can do everything except talk and walk. She can sit from laying down, she can pull herself up to standing from any position. Now, when she pulls herself up, she gets brave and tries to let go!!

03/30/2001

Crazy Pants Head

I'm Crazy Pants Head!!
Now, gimme some candy!

04/10/2001

Abbica-Bob

She's finally got teeth!!

04/11/2001

Groucho

I love it

04/11/2001

Couple O' Bobs

I had to put this one up. It was just too funny! The teeth really make a difference in appearance!

03/17/2001

04/16/2001

9 Months

She just cut her first tooth. It broke the skin the other day! WOO HOO! (It's a real one this time)
She is 15lbs and 24 inches

04/30/2001

Climbing

Before we got the gates, we put up her giant stuffed animals as a barrier to the steps (up) and kitchen. Not much resistance, eh?
Oh, yeah. She can climb all the way up the steps!

05/13/2001

10 Months

She took 3 steps today!!
Now she has 2 teeth and she is in a big-girl carseat

05/29/2001

So Big

She has really good balance and can stand for a minute or so. And she loves to do 'SO BIG!'

05/29/2001

Abbica's Puppy

This is Abbica's Puppy!

06/20/2001

Evil Genius

'Excellent'
'Yes, I've got them just where I want them'
'One Miiiillion Dollars!'

06/25/2001

11 Months

Just one more month!

06/29/2001

ONE YEAR

Woo Hoo
She is drunkenly walking all over the place.
She is 18 lbs, 10oz and 28 in tall - not long anymore!

07/24/2001

First Birthday

She started eating calmly with one hand. Then she just dug in and enjoyed herself!

07/28/2001

Cake Face

'Well, what did you expect?'

07/28/2001

Year Two

Vegas Babes

We realized that she'd never been to Vegas, so we took her there the day after her birthday! I think she fit right in.

07/30/2001

Baby Doll

My goodness, she loves her baby doll

08/24/2001

Cake Belly

On her Daddy's birthday, we gave her some ice cream cake....

08/26/2001

Peach Dress

She walked at her Aunt Benji's wedding. This was the dress she wore.

09/06/2001

Dancing

At the wedding, she got to dance! And dance, and dance and dance...!
She is 14 months now, too!

09/29/2001

Shopping

Yes, she got in there all by herself!

10/02/2001

Smelling Flowers

Outside the White House, she started with the flowers, then started smelling everything!

10/13/2001

Windy In Canada

We were in Buffalo for a wedding, so we took a day trip to Niagara Falls, Canada. Very cool.

11/09/2001

Christmas Dress

Well, we went to se Santa that day. Abbica loves Santa. But God help him if he tries to touch her!

11/21/2001

Feeding Tess

Remember Tess? Over at Nonno & Nonna's house, Abbica was feeding Tess some treats.

11/22/2001

Hershey Park

Hershey Park in November is cold! Abbica got to ride her first amusement rides, though! She loved it.

11/24/2001

Turkey Sandwich

Abbica's first leftover turkey sandwich. Yummy!

11/25/2001

Rocking Horses

Abbica got 2 rocking horses for Christmas.
The one on the left was from her Nonna and Nonno. It is furry and makes noise!
The one on the right was made by her Pop-Pop!

12/25/2001

Climbing Into A View

We went to Niagara Falls, Canada for New Year's Eve. This was the view from our room!

12/30/2001

Longjohns

It was really cold in Canada, so we had to dress warm!

12/30/2001

Sledding

Buffalo got 80in of snow!! Canada didn't get nearly that much, but it was cool, just the same. More snow than we get in DC!

12/31/2001

Pigtails

Her hair is finally long enough to put into pigtails!

01/05/2002

Tuckered Out

We were watching the Superbowl pregame and she just tuckered out!

After she woke up, I taught her to put her coat on all by herself!! She's such a big girl.

02/03/2002

Carnivale

Since we couldn't make it to Venezia for Carnivale, we got out our mask and let Abbica pretend.

02/21/2002

First Haircut

Nonno gave Abbica her first haircut. She was surprisingly good about the whole thing. I think she just liked being able to sit and stare at herself in the mirror!

02/24/2002

Disney Trip

We went to Disney for our 3rd anniversary trip. Abbica had sooooo much fun!

03/02/2002

Taking A Picture

Abbica LOVES cameras and pictures. We really need to get her a camera of her own.

03/03/2002

Easter

Well, it's Easter and Abbica had so much fun dying and then finding the eggs!

03/30/2002

Swimming

We bought Abbica a new pool. This one is plastic, so those darn cats can't pop it!!

04/17/2002

New Bed

Abbica finally got a Big Girl Bed. We had a few problems on the 3rd night. She had some new freedoms and thought that screaming at us would convince us to let her come downstairs and play.

04/19/2002

Ponytail

Shelby has been putting her hair in a ponytail lately.

04/20/2002

Caught!

See, she knows she's not allowed to do this!!

04/23/2002

Carnival

There was a carnival today down the street from us. She got to ride in the car all by herself!! And she waved to us every time she came around.

04/30/2002

Lorikeet

For Mother's Day, we took a trip to Busch Gardens and Water Country USA. In Busch Gardens, they had a birdcage where you could feed nectar to lorikeets.

05/11/2002

Olde Tyme Photo

We went to Ocean City and just had to get one of these done!

05/05/2002

Cheese!

She is such a ham!

05/25/2002

Swimming

OK. I hate these things. I think they are unsafe and dangerous. Mainly because parents put them on their kids, drop them in the pool, and sit down to read a book. That being said..., Shelby is never more than arms reach from Abbica at any time, so don't let this picture upset you.
Abbica LOVES these. She can swim all over the pool! On her back, on her belly, verticle. She is such a fish!

05/11/2002

Dressing Herself

HAHA, she is so independent, now! She loves trying to dress herself and is usually pretty good at it. But, hey, it wouldn't make for such a funny picture if I posted one that she got right!

06/30/2002

Best Buds

'One Of These Days . . .'
This is Abbica's good buddy, Nicholas! 'Though it appears as if she's pulling a Ralph Cramden on him . . . .

07/09/2002

Year Two Invite

This is the invite we sent out for Abbica's second birthday. These are various pictures from Year Two. Start at the upper left corner and spiral in toward the center, clockwise.
Abbica had many firsts this year:
Her first haircut
Her first Vegas trip
Her first baby doll
Her first pets
Her first real bed

07/29/2001 - 06/12/2002

Birthday #2

We gave her a slice of cake and a fork. What the Heck were we thinking???

07/27/2002

Abbica's Friends

Abbica had some really cute kids at her birthday party this year. We tried to line them all up to take a picture, but . . . you know how kids are!

07/27/2002

Year Three

Singing In The Rain

Pretty cool umbrella. It lights up when you open it!

09/01/2002

Hailey

Abbica is soooo happy about having a new baby sister! She is so helpful with everything from diapers to baths.

09/12/2002

Dude!

All the young dudes . . . .

09/14/2002

Camcorder

She loves being in and takeing pictures. Some day, maybe we'll turn on the camcorder and see what she tapes!

09/16/2002

Abbica & Josh

She's growing up so fast!!

09/23/2002

Hay Ride

Abbica & Josh on a Hayride

10/01/2002

All Her Glory

2 Babies!!

10/08/2002

Sisters

What cute sisters!

10/11/2002

Cheerleader

Getting ready for the big game!!

10/27/2002

Halloween Candy

We don't give Abbica candy as a general rule. So when we let her dump her basket on the floor and have at it.... It took us hours to get her ready for bed!!

10/31/2002

Zerberts!

I was changing Hailey and while I went to get her some new clothes Abbica took advantantage of the opportunity!

11/02/2002

Making Faces

I'm not sure where she learned it, or why she was even doing in the first place.

Updates:

Abbica has been wearing underpants since 10/29 when she told Shelby that she didn't want to wear a diaper anymore. It was so out of the blue and we were so unprepared.... We went out a few times this weekend and she stayed dry the whole time.

11/02/2002

1...2...3!

Pinned!!

11/24/2002

Roasting Marshmellows

We went to cut down our Christmas Tree this year and Abbica got to roast her own marshmellows

12/01/2002

Santa Claus

For the second year in a row, Abbica was scared to death of Santa Claus. Not sure what the deal is. This time, Shelby and I dressed up - just in case.

12/01/2002

Making Cookies

Abbica loves helping out in the kitchen

12/04/2002

Snow Angel

This was the first time Abbica really had a chance to play in the snow. And OH, how she loved it!

12/05/2002

Trimming The Tree

Quite the helper, Abbica hung ornaments on all the low-hanging branches.

12/07/2002

Ring Around The Rosie

Abbica & Caitlin have such a good time together.

12/13/2002

Christmas Haircut

Unlike most 2-year-olds, Abbica just loves to get her hair cut. She sat still the whole time very patiently!

12/14/2002

New Hair

She looks sooo cute with her hair like this.

12/21/2002

Catching Snowflakes

Nobody will belive us, but we actually had a white Christmas!

12/24/2002

All Decked Out

Even in the car, she insisted on keeping her hands inside the muff!

12/24/2002

Storytime

After the Seven Fishes, Nonna sat down with her grandchildren to read them two books: The First Christmas & The Night Before Christmas. Well, Paris and Hailey were eating, but Abbica sure enjoyed the stories.

12/24/2002

Playing With Toys

Abbica just insisted on trying to play with every toy at the same time!

12/25/2002

Christmas In Philly

I couldn't believe Abbica & Joshua sat so patiently without ripping open all of those presents!!

12/27/2002

New Year's Kiss

We went to visit some friends who lived outside of Boston for New Year's. We had a great time and it even snowed!!

12/31/2002

Grandparents

Abbica had to wish all of her grandparents a Happy New Year.

01/01/2003

Sledding

This was the first time Abbica was able to sled down a hill all by herself! She LOVED it.

01/01/2003

Climbing The Hill

After sledding down the hill, Abbica had to climb her way all the way back to the top. Please ignore the trees growing sideways on the 'mountain.'

01/01/2003

Sin N Spin

I always knew that Abbica would love a Sit N Spin. Kristen and Dave got her one for Christmas and oh boy did she have fun.

01/12/2003

Nonno's Girls

Not sure what got into Nonno. He grew a Grandfather beard and got down on the floor . . . .

01/12/2003

At The Gym

Every Thursday, Abbica heads to the Gym to play, exercise and get really, really tired!

01/23/2003

Bandaid Face

She got into the Bandaids and, well . . . , she is my daughter.

02/10/2003

The Big Snow

WOW! We sure got a lot of snow. That's 30in out on the deck!

02/17/2003

The Cutest

She really is a cutie, isn't she?

Updates:

Last night, Abbica did not want her pullups, but instead went to bed in underpants. She woke up dry!!

03/07/2003

Mismatched Tights

Didn't I see this on Cops last week?
Not sure what the deal is, but she just doesn't like to goto bed. This picture was taken at 11:30pm

03/26/2003

Pijama Dressup

Ok. I guess Abbica will do anything but sleep . . . . My sister called and Abbica was awake (11:00pm) and when I went upstairs to give the phone to Abbica, this is what I saw (left). An hour later, I went back upstairs and took the picture on the right. I believe those are all of her pijamas, as well as her nightgown.

03/28/2003

Bath Hair

Aunt Jess gave Abbica a bath and played with her hair.

03/30/2003

The Awakening

In DC, there is a statue called 'The Awakening' of a guy waking up and climbing out of the ground. It is really cool. I think it is left over from some kind of art fair.

04/05/2003

Easter Bunny

Last year, after seeing Mickey, Abbica was fine with the Easter Bunny. This year, however, it took some coaxing. I'm really not sure why.

04/06/2003

Paris Doll

Nonna bought Abbica this doll because Abbica said it looked like her cousin Paris . . . .

04/16/2003

Picking Crabs

In our family, you pick your own crabs!! We take that sort of thing seriously.

04/26/2003

Cliff Climbing

A Nor'Easter swept through a while back which is what we believe created the sand cliffs. They should be smoothed out by the time the season starts, but climbing the cliffs and sliding back down is kind of fun.

04/27/2003

Go Carts

We went to Little David Bobon's First Holy Communion and then back to Wendy and Dave's new house for a party. They live in a log cabin! It is really cool. Anyway, they have a lot of land and also have go carts. Jessie May was driving us around. She's not a bad driver . . . for a 7-year-old!

05/03/2003

Making Pizza

Abbica helped make little pizzas. I only did the first one; she did the rest. She is getting to be such a big and independant girl!

05/25/2003

Harry Potter

Ok, so Shelby went out at 10pm Friday night to the bookstore (Yes, I said Shelby)! She waited around for 2 hours for the new Harry Potter book to go onsale and Abbica was still up when she got back. Abbica sure wishes she could read.

06/20/2003

Boxhead

It is never boring, here.

06/22/2003

Nonna's Girls

Nonna had all of her girls together at the Ocean!

07/04/2003

Modelling

This girl is such a ham! The telescope picture lady was falling all over Abbica having her sit in all of these different poses. Abbica just ate it all up!

07/04/2003

Bumper Boats

They didn't really do much, but Abbica loved going on all the boardwalk rides.

07/06/2003

Cutting Her Cake

Yes we let her cut the first piece. Under heavy supervision, of course!
She just got weighed and is 28lbs, 35in tall.

07/27/2003

Year Four

The Painter

She just loves to paint! And she makes such a wonderful mess!

08/02/2003

Breakfast

These two are just too cute!

08/09/2003

Earrings

For her 3rd birthday, we got Abbica's ears pierced. She was such a trooper and was so excited and wanted it so badly, that she didn't cry at all!

08/12/2003

Abbica Potter

Not sure what gets into her, but she's been giving this crazy smile recently

09/01/2003

New Backpack

Well, we enrolled her in preschool this year, so she got to buy a backpack. Yeah... it's a frog.

09/02/2003

Abbica Potter

She was so excited about going to school. We figured she has the rest of her life to hate school, may as well let her go while she actually wants to go! She was a bit apprehensive when we first dropped her off, but she warmed up quickly.

09/02/2003

Hugging Bunnies

We had pony rides for Hailey's first birthday, and they brought a petting zoo along with them.

09/13/2003

Drop Zone

Our daughter, the thrill seeker! AOL had the annual Picnic In The Park at 6-Flags the day after Hailey's party.

09/14/2003

Dancing At Joe's

As per tradition, we took Hailey to Joe's Crab Shack after getting the 'thumbs-up' from the doc that Hailey can eat shellfish. Oh boy, did she chow on some crab . . and shrimp . . and lobster!

So, Joe likes to crank up the music every now and then and all the staff stop working and dance. Our girls thought this was great and Abbica even climbed up on the bench and then the table and danced right along with them!

09/15/2003

Crazy Lady

Yeah, she's a bit nuts.

10/15/2003

McDrive-Thru

Ummm.... Hmmm... Not quite sure what to say, here.

10/18/2003

Big Slide

Abbica grabbed ahold of her sister and went down the slide, turning around in the process. They both loved it.

10/24/2003

Kids On A Bus

Abbica And her friends had a great day at Leesburg Park for Halloween.

10/24/2003

Ashley

A friend of mine lives in Buffalo and just had a new beautiful baby girl. So, we jumped in the car and went to visit.

10/26/2003

Pumpkin Painting

A friend of ours had a halloween playgroup with pumpkin painting and all!

10/31/2003

Princess Abbica

So, Abbica really thinks she is a princess. Makes me wonder if all those Disney movies are such a good idea....

10/31/2003

Can We Go Now?

This was really the first Halloween Abbica understood what it was all about. Needless to say, she was a bit impatient

10/31/2003

Storytime

Hailey is really starting to enjoy books and Abbica likes to pretend to read.

11/03/2003

Santa Claus

Shelby told Abbica that if she were brave and sat on Santa's lap, that Hailey would also sit. Seemed to work!

12/03/2003

Trimming The Tree

Abbica and Hailey were such good helpers

12/07/2003

Christmas Dresses

These girls are just too excited! We are getting ready for the feast of the 7 fishes!

12/24/2003

Jasmine Barbie

This was Abbica's favorite present. Even a week later, she still claimed it to be her favorite! In fact, when she opened it, I believe her exact words were, 'Ohhhh, thank you Santa Claus!'

12/25/2003

Paper House

Finally, Abbica has walls on which she is allowed to draw!

12/25/2003

Big Tongue

HA! This crazy lady is sure ready for New Year's Eve.

12/31/2003

Bedtime Dressup

So, she really loves her blowup sleeping bag. So we let her sleep in it. I suppose she had some trouble sleeping, so she got dressed.

01/01/2004

Changing Diapers

Abbica really likes to help out. Even changing her sister's diaper!

01/11/2004

The Snuggly

I'm a little surprised she could do this at all. Hailey's not so light.

01/27/2004

Easter Tree

So, we went to Ocean City for a St. Patrick's Day parade and Abbica was decorating the Easter Tree and I was taking pictures. At one point, Abbica said to me, 'Daddy. Take a picture of me with my hand in the bag.'

03/12/2004

Kite Day

Abbica so loves flying her kite. We went to DC for the Cherry Blossom kickoff and kite day on the National Mall.

03/27/2004

Cake Decorating

Trying to be like Mommy?

05/09/2004

Easter Dress

It is very rare that we will bother getting professional pictures done, but these guys came to Abbica's school. And, well, we couldn't resist. Besides, he brought bunnies!!

05/13/2004

Nicholas William

Zaharis, not Biancaniello. Benjalee has a new baby boy. We spent a week in NC at the beach and visiting with the family.

06/13/2004

Sneaking Cake

This is what happens when you leave cake unattended.

06/13/2004

Making Music

Had some friends over and they made a girl band!

06/26/2004

Year Five

Holy Crap!

New Bike

Abbica got a real bike with training wheels

08/01/2004

The Teeth

Shelby asked me to get some party favors for Abbica's party. I found these.

08/08/2004

Beach Trip

Shelby got an urge for the beach and convinced her friends to drop what they were doing and go with her.

08/10/2004

Teacups

It was a full day at the beach. Sun, sand, and rides.

08/10/2004

Diving

Ok, so not diving. In fact, I think she's about to belly-flop, but she did great in her lessons.

08/25/2004

Swimming Underwater

She did so well in her swim lessons and can now swim underwater.

08/25/2004

Kid In A Dress

Just your typical kid in a dress.
There was a surprise opening at the local preschool, so we jumped on it. This was Abbica's first day and she wanted to look nice in her new dress - but she is still a kid!

09/08/2004

Running Man

Annual summer picnic at 6 Flags.

09/12/2004

Sleepover

Abbica had her first sleepover!

09/18/2004

Big Feet

Look at those gigantic feet!!

09/25/2004

Halloween Idol

Cox Farm had a full mic and speaker setup, and Abbica never misses a chance to sing. Her teacher at school says that she just sings to herself all the time. She just makes up a song about what she's doing.
Here, she sang 'What's New Pussycat' while her friend Rachel sang, 'Jessie's Girl.'

09/25/2004

Look At My Candy

It was a good night of candy-begging!

10/31/2004

Christmas Pagent

Abbica's first Christmas Pagent. And since she will be going to public school next year, this is probably her last!

12/17/2004

Look At Us

Look at my beautiful daughters in their gingerbread dresses.

12/21/2004

Reindeer Food

She was soooo excited to spread reindeer food. We put some in the front yard and some in the back, because we weren't sure which way Santa was going to come.

12/24/2004

Fingernail Polished

Ugh. We had already taken everything out of their bathroom because they kept covering themselves in soap and playing and making messes. On this day, we heard water running in a tub, which usually means that Hailey pooped in her pants and went to the bathroom to change and 'clean' herself up. So, I rushed upstairs and this is the scene I found. The girls had gone into our bathroom, gotten fingernail polish (every bottle they could find), brought it back and went to work. Abbica had split when she heard me coming and Hailey was left, once again, . . . well, red-handed. I am just glad that they kept it to the bathroom and each other and not on the carpet. OH, and Abbica painted Hailey's butt.

01/19/2005

Our Snowman

The first decent snow of the season! We built a huge snowman with an enormous butt! Afterwards, we went sledding on a local hill and were joined by some neighborhood kids. After much pleading, I let Abbica try one of the snowboards.... She made it halfway down the hill before she fell. I guess I know what she'll be asking for Christmas next year!

01/30/2005

Head Wound

Since we couldn't travel, we had some friends over to watch the superbowl. Just after halftime, the kids were roughhousing and Abbica hit her head on the banister. We took her to the ER, where they glued her head back together! When we got back, our friends had cleaned up the kitchen for us!!

The next morning, Hailey walked over to Abbica, put her arm around her and said, 'Abbica. I love you, Abbica.'

02/06/2005

Isabella Maria

Abbica was so excited to have a baby sister. She frequently comes to us and says, 'Your baby is precious!'

02/12/2005

Baby Bath

Abbica helped us give Isabella a bath.

02/16/2005

Barber School

This was pretty funny. Abbica decided that Hailey needed a haircut, and since Hailey does everything Abbica says, she climbed into the chair and Abbica draped this blanket over her. Of course, they were just pretending and there were no scissors involved.

02/17/2005

Natural Mommy

Abbica tells me every day how much she loves having a baby around. She has become very nuturing to her dolls, too. She will ask me, 'Daddy, will you watch my baby for me?' Then 5 seconds later, 'Thanks for watching her.'

02/19/2005

Kids On A Couch

I, actually, don't think it's possible to take a picture of 5 kids . . . .

02/23/2005

Sledding

We don't get a lot of snow around here, but when we do, we use it. I built a sled run designed for saucers. It had a few banks and maintained a few inches of packed snow. I had to use the snow from the rest of the yard to make what little I could.
This photo was taken on our way to the E.R. You see, Abbica wanted to goto the end of the culdisac where the hill is steeper and her friend Jane lives. Abbica went down a hill on her belly and the sled hit a tree, then so did her face.

Turns out, she is fine, but she got to see the xrays of her face, which she found fascinating!

02/25/2005

Show And Tell

'Hmmmm... What should I take for show and tell? Jessie or Isabella . . . ? Jessie or Isabella . . . ?

03/04/2005

Rocking Bella

This was such a cute picture. She still loves her sister so much. Unfortunately, she just wants to carry her around.

03/15/2005

Dying Easter Eggs

The girls got to dye eggs this year. We were a bit late getting started - this was, like, 11pm!

03/26/2005

WWII Waves

We took a spontaneous afternoon trip to The City just because the weather was so nice. We stopped by the WWII Memorial and the girls just loved all of the fountains.

04/06/2005

Sitting On Mickey

Disney is sending 75 Mickeys on tour. They are 6' tall and 300lbs. Each is designed by a celebrity and will be auctioned off after the tour, the procedes of which will benefit the celebrity's chosen charity.

04/09/2005

The House Of George

Abbica has been learning about American History in preschool. She has been asking to go inside George Bush's house, but he wasn't home. So, we took a picture from the outside.

04/09/2005

Look At Me

This was fun. Abbica was organizing some sort of musical thing. 'Daddy, you say Blah Blah Blah. Hailey, you click your tongue. Mommy, you clap. Isabella, you look all around. I will snap. Ready? Go.' Then she dance, spun around and landed like this....

04/15/2005

Space Girl

At the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore, Abbica got the chance to feel what it would be like to actually be an astronaut!

04/30/2005

Tree Sitter

A bunch of cousins met us at the National Zoo. Pretty typical day: See some animals, have a picnic, sit in a tree . . . .

05/07/2005

Abby's Babies

At Uncle Joe's high school graduation party, Abbica finally had the chance to hold Isabella and Sophia.

06/11/2005

Feeding The Baby

Isabella has started eating real food and her sisters just love to feed her.

06/18/2005

Driving

We got season passes to Kings Dominion this year and spent the 4th of July there. Abbica can't ride a lot of rides, but she did get to drive this car around by herself!

07/04/2005

Jimmy Neutron

Jimmy is the man!

07/05/2005

Myrtle Beach

We spent our summer beach trip this year in North Carolina with Shelby's parents. We took one day and drove down to Myrtle beach.

07/12/2005

Sleepover

Abbica had a sleepover for her birthday this year. Nine little girls...! They say I could be released from the asylum in time for Chistmas.

07/29/2005

Year Six

I can't believe that our little girl is riding the school bus to Kindergarten!

Happy Birthday

We decided to only have one party for both girls. Abbica insisted on having a school bus cake. She is so excited to be going to kindergarten!

08/13/2005

Curly

Shelby put curlers in the girls' hair last night.

09/03/2005

Kindergarten

It was Abbica's first day of Kindergarten. She got to ride the bus to school. Shelby followed the bus.

09/06/2005

Hippie

My Flower Child

09/07/2005

3 Ponytails

Abbica is able to put her own hair into ponytails. However, she never seems to get the back of her hair into them. So, I suggested that she just put that hair into a 3rd tail. This is now her favorite style. Yes, she did this all by herself (and she can do Hailey's hair as well)!

09/17/2005

Ballet

Shelby put the girls into ballet to 'teach them grace.' The problem is that you can't teach grace . . . .

09/20/2005

Sisters

We went to visit some family out in the country in WV. Fall had already hit and the backdrop was beautiful! We didn't bring any toys, and the girls did such a great job of playing with each other and entertaining themselves.

09/25/2005

Tree Girl

While in WV, Abbica had some poses.

09/25/2005

Pumpkinville

The girls all went to Cox Farm for the Fall Festival.

10/24/2005

I Love New York

We went to a Halloween/Birthday party for Shelby's friend, Kelli's husband Rob this weekend. While we were up there, we drove into NYC to visit Brian. We were hoping to meet his new bride, but she was out of town.
Brian has a cat that the girls just loved. But the cat is blind and startles easily.

10/29/2005

Candy Loot

Annual after Trick-Or-Treating Look-At-My-Candy photo

10/31/2005

Peanut

Jessica found a squirrel that had been blown out of his nest by hurricane Katrina. She nursed him back to health and now he is her pet and companion. She named him Peanut.

11/11/2005

Nose Lizard

So . . . Abbica got this rubber lizard from school. "Mommy," she says. "Take a picture of me with a lizard on my nose!"

12/08/2005

Santa

This really is the best Santa ever. We were in Walmart the other day and just as Abbica was acting up, we passed a Santa. "Abbica. I bet he saw that! You'd best watch yourself; I told you he was everywhere!" I told her.

"Daddy," she replied. "That's not Santa."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because Santa's beard is white. That guy's beard had some brown on the sides."

12/09/2005

Santa Snacks

We were getting ready to leave Santa some milk and cookies, when Abbica insisted on leaving egg nog.

12/24/2005

Presents

Sitting amongst all of the presents.

12/25/2005

Cold Beach

We went to NC for New Year's this year. It was like 70, so we went to the beach. The sand and water were cold, but the girls had a great time.

01/01/2006

Love Girls

Another set of matching outfits.

01/28/2006

Trump Tower

We spent the weekend in New York City. Our hotel was just down the street from Times Square.

02/19/2006

Giant Piano

We took a few trips to FAO Schwartz. This is the same piano that was used in 'Big.'

While in the toy store, we went to the candy dept and got . . 6lbs of candy!!

02/19/2006

Reading

I keep forgetting that Paris is only 3. Not that either of them can really read yet, but they are always so cute together.

02/26/2006

Bumper Cars

Abbica was so happy to be able to take Hailey on the Bumper Cars!

04/10/2006

Butterfly Ballerinas

Kings Dominion started a new attraction this year: Backyard Circus. They pull kids from the audience and dress them up.

04/10/2006

Beach Wall

So, Abbica and I started digging a hole and building a wall. She sat there all day waiting for the water to come.

04/14/2006

Tree Hider

We were in NC for Easter this year. When we are down there, there is this park full of trees. We like to play Hide-And-Seek behind the trees.

04/19/2006

Ryan

Sherry and Peter stopped by with their new baby, Ryan.

04/22/2006

Tiny Frogs

Mike's parents moved all the way to Ocean City this year! Their new house is in a nice community with a lake out back. And the yard is full>/B< of these tiny frogs. The girls just adore them and run out into the yard to capture them.

06/18/2006

Barbie

For Abbica's 6th birthday party, Barbie stopped by to visit! She sang and danced with the children and read them stories. The adults, meanwhile, had a drink.

07/29/2006

6 Years

For Abbica's 6th birthday party, we had 12 (yeah, that's twelve) little girls spend the night! You woulda thought we'd learned last year. This year, she wanted a pool party. While that didn't quite work out (the pool won't rent the clubhouse because they can't decide how much to charge), Shelby was able to make this cool pool cake.

07/29/2006

Year Seven

Holy Crap! I can't believe we have a kids starting 1st grade already!

Grouchy

I put fake teeth and Groucho glasses as party favors for the girls' combined birthday party. Ash-a-ley and Jane came over and, well . . . they're dorks!

08/13/2006

Fishing

Shelby took the girls to Ocean City with some friends. They all went fishing - don't think they caught anything.

08/18/2006

Soccer Girl

Abbica made it onto a Soccer team this year. Hailey is still on the waiting list. She is so cute in this getup.

08/28/2006

Two Wheels

Abbica bugged us to take off her training wheels today. She is ok, but has no confidence. If we could just get her to believe that she could do it, then she would be fine.

09/04/2006

First Grade!

Abbica started first grade this year. She is getting so big.

09/05/2006

Oh The Drama

More drama than soccer, if you ask me.

09/06/2006

Soccer Star

She claims to enjoy soccer, but during games, she just doesn't pay attention. Sometimes I think she's more interested in looking good out there than the game.

09/06/2006

Halloween Loot

Another good day begging for candy! Try as I might, I couldn't convince Shelby to wear her Snow White dress . . . .

10/31/2006

Reading

Abbica is starting to read really well, now. Her biggest problem is a lack of confidence. She seems afraid of being wrong, so she won't try.

11/16/2006

Christmas Card

I put the card on Abbica's page this year because she's the only one that doesn't have one, yet. This was fun. It wasn't our original idea (check out Hailey's page for that), but it is simpler and it works.

This one really doesn't need any explanation. It should be obvious that we are robbing the fat man.

12/02/2006

Paper Planes

02/10/2006

Famous American

02/22/2006

Couch Jumpers

03/04/2006

Lost Tooth

03/16/2006

Easter Dress

03/25/2006

Greenville

04/03/2006

Another Tooth

04/08/2006

Fixing Scooters

06/09/2006

Piper

06/09/2006

Flag Dresses

06/17/2007

Feeding

06/17/2007

MakingCake-AddingCherries

06/21/2007

That Tooth Is Falling Out

06/21/2007

Too Happy

06/25/2007

Girls On Couch

07/03/2007

Missing Teeth

07/22/2007

Year Eight

07/29/2007 17:42

Birthday Girl

08/04/2007

Grandgirls

08/05/2007

Surprise! It's today!

Shelby just went in to get some gel applied to help her cervix open . . . . We came home with a baby!

Let Me In

I took the girls to get a bite to eat - then found out that the cafeteria had just closed. We were waiting for Shelby to get ready to go in.

February 11, 2005 19:06

Monkey Suit

I had to wear this costume for the operation. Shelby's mom happened to catch me during my pre-surgery dance ritual (wards off the spirits)

February 11, 2005 19:30

The Catcher

Just in case they were going to need me. I had to be prepared

February 11, 2005 19:30

Introducing . . .

Warming Up

at 7:49pm, Shelby delivered a beatiful baby girl with dark hair!

February 11, 2005 20:05

Height: 19 inches
Weight: 7lb, 7oz

Peepers

Someone's looking at my baby!

February 11, 2005 20:12

Weighing

Isabella weighed in at 7lbs, 7oz. She was 19in long.

February 11, 2005 20:12

Mommy's First Look

After the C-Section, Shelby spent 1/2 hour in recovery. It was almost 3 hours before she had a chance to hold her new baby.

February 11, 2005 21:09

Support

Ma-Ma came up to help Shelby during the week leading up to this and has been watching Abbica and Hailey while we took care of the new baby. She is a very brave woman

She allowed us to dedicate the time we needed with our new baby girl.

February 11, 2005 21:13

First Bath

Isabella's first bath. They still couldn't wash any red into that hair!

February 11, 2005 22:14

Booorrring

She has been sleeping a lot.

February 11, 2005 22:51

Knock It Off

I suppose she'd already had enough people poking and prodding at her. The last thing she wanted was some jerk trying to get her to look at a camera.

February 11, 2005 22:51

Abbica's Little Sister

Abbica was so wonderful with the new baby! When she would cry, Abbica would say, 'It's ok baby. Your mommy's right over there.'

February 11, 2005 22:51

Hailey's Little Sister

Hailey loves this new baby so much. Hailey kept saying, 'She's soooo cute.' Then she smothers her with kisses!

February 11, 2005 22:53

On The Phone

Can't seem to keep this girl off the phone

February 12, 2005 10:45

Dr. Bess

Dr. Bess was the doctor who delivered Isabella.

February 12, 2005 12:42

Daddy

Changing her into street clothes.

February 12, 2005 09:30

Head Shot

This is a good closeup of her face and hair.

February 12, 2005 12:16

The Cart

At the hospital, we are not allowed to pick up the babies outside of our room, so if we want to take a walk, we have to put them into this cart.

February 12, 2005 09:57

Sleeping

This girl is up all night eating and then sleeps all day. We are going to have to fix that!

February 13, 2005 13:11

Amanda

Amanda is a friend of Shelby's from her childcare days. She came down to the hospital to visit with us.

February 13, 2005 18:09

Donna

Donna was our second visitor of the evening. She is Rachel's mommy (who I'm sure will be popping up in some photos eventually).

February 13, 2005 19:51

Julie

Julie was our nurse. She was called in on Saturday because there were 18 babies at the Inn!

February 14, 2005 14:58

Kissing

Hailey is getting much better at holding her sister.

February 13, 2005 20:33

Smiles

One rare smile and we had a camera. I guess MaMa just knows how to bring out the best in her granddaughter.

February 13, 2005 21:03

Cleaning Up

Shelby wanted to give her a bath before we left. Apparently, this is not a normal thing as most of the nurses didn't understand what we were asking at first....

February 14, 2005 14:15

Getting Dressed

Daddy dressing Isabella for the trip home

February 14, 2005 14:21

Dressed Up

She is finally ready to go to her home! I think we are more excited about this than she is.

Even with the constant nightly feeding, she still managed to drop a few ounces. We will see the doctor in the morning for a weight check.

February 14, 2005 14:59

Weight: 6lb, 12oz

Welcome Home

Stork

We get one of these every time.

February 14, 2005

Nonno

Nonno and Nonna and Uncle Joe came up late Monday night to visit with the new princess.

February 14, 2005 20:52

Nonna

Nonno and Nonna and Uncle Joe came up late Monday night to visit with the new princess.

February 14, 2005 21:08

Sisters

The girls were tired and didn't really want to sit. Shelby really wanted the Valentine's Day photo, though.

February 14, 2005 22:01

Hairbow

I can't believe it took this long for Shelby to get a bow in that girl's hair!

February 15, 2005 18:43

Height: 19 1/2 in
Weight: 7lb, 2oz

Chris

Chris stopped by with Sasha today. I'm sure there will be plenty of captured excitement with Sasha over the coming years!

February 15, 2005 12:15

Feed Me

Hey, the girl likes to eat. Sitting in her high chair, watching the rest of us eat, though, wasn't her idea of a good time.

February 15, 2005 18:46

Bathtime

This was her first real bath. The girls were so helpful. She peed once before the bath and pooped 4 times within 5 minutes after it was over!

February 16, 2005 11:25

GGMom

GGMom and Nonna came up to visit Wednesday afternoon.

February 16, 2005 13:03

Jane & Vicky

Jane is a friend of Abbica from down the street. Vicky is a neighbor whose daughter Amanda was Abbica & Hailey's babysitter since we moved in until she went to college and accepted an internship in Africa!

Vicky is also one of many neighbors who brought us food. I'm not talking like an entree or a plate of brownies, either. Our neighbors cooked us full meals! We were quite overwhelmed.

February 18, 2005 16:00

Aunt Jess

Everybody just loves Aunt Jess

February 19, 2005 20:00

Pop Pop

Pop Pop drove Aunt Jess and Joshua up from N.C. to pick up Ma-Ma, after her 2 week stint in our dishevelled home.

February 19, 2005 20:00

Ma-Ma

Ma-Ma came up to help Shelby a week prior to the birth to help out. She has stayed for a couple of weeks and has really been a wonderful help to us. She watched after the older 2, helped Shelby get around and even cleaned our home and did ALL of our laundry! We are indebted to her generosity.

February 20, 2005 20:00

Family Stork

Ok, so we finally found a somewhat nice (cold) day to get this picture taken. This was our first day alone with the 3 children.

February 20, 2005 14:21

Uncle Joe

Uncle Joe drove up with Nonno and Nonna to spend President's Day with us.

February 21, 2005 14:38

Aunt Benji

Aunt Benji brought Mommom up to see Isabella.

February 23, 2005 12:00

Mommom

Mommom was in all her glory holding a new baby.

February 23, 2005 18:46

Dr. Stokes

Dr. Stokes was out of town when Isabella was born, so Shelby didn't get to yell at him

February 23, 2005 10:48

Sleeping

She does a lot of this during the day. We need to teach her how to sleep at night!

February 24, 2005 15:40

Bad Babysitter

Some advice to all the Dads out there: Don't let a 4-year-old babysit your new baby!

February 25, 2005 21:41

Awake!

Check it out! She's awake and full!

February 25, 2005 13:24

Pink Jammas

Shelby likes to dress her girls alike. Even when the clothes aren't the same, doggoneit, they are gonna be wearing the same color.

February 27, 2005 20:39

Bottle??

Abbica was the first not-Mom to feed Isabella. I don't think I'd ever seen her so excited! Abbica, that is. Isabella didn't quite know what to think.

February 27, 2005 19:19

You're Not Mom

Hailey got to feed a bottle to Isabella. She wasn't happy about it at first, but she eventually got comfortable.

February 27, 2005 19:19

Daddy?

I was never able to do this with the other 2.

With Abbica, we were too afraid that she would become a lazy sucker, so didn't introduce the bottle until later. At that point, though, she had become stubborn and would scream the entire day (Shelby was working at the time) until she got so hungry that she gave up and drank from the bottle.

With Hailey, we just never tried too hard. Shelby wasn't working and there wasn't much need for a bottle, and I only tried a few times and we just gave up.

Isabella still gets confused, but she took to it much better quicklier so we hope that the 3 of us (not-Moms) will be able to lend a hand and help out with the feedings.

February 27, 2005 19:19

Rachel

Rachel is one of Abbica's best friends. Shelby was holding Isabella on the couch, when Rachel came over and sat down between her and her Mom. After a bit, Shelby realized and looked down at her and asked, 'Do you want to hold her?' Of course, that is what she was so patiently waiting for!

March 3, 2005 14:00

Weight: 8lb, 8oz

Sammy

Sammy is Rachel's younger sister. She was very excited to be able to hold a baby

March 3, 2005 14:00

Holly

Ari and Holly stopped by to visit. Ari was on the floor playing with thier boy, Sammy.

March 6, 2005 17:39

A Whole Lotta Purple

Shelby got all of these purple pijamas and was dying to dress everyone up.

March 8, 2005 21:22

Al & Estella

March 11, 2005 10:06

Mommy

March 16, 2005 20:31

Weight: 9lb, 2oz

Uncle Sammy

We went down to visit and introduce Isabella to her Uncle Sammy.

March 19, 2005 17:54

GGMom's Babies

We went to see Kristen for Easter this year and we got to see her new cutie, Sophia.

March 27, 2005 17:00

Easter Dresses

It was killing Shelby that the dresses weren't exactly the same. Well, they are all the same dress, just different colors.

March 27, 2005 23:00

Big Smile

Isabella has been smiling a LOT lately. This is one of her brightest.

March 31, 2005 12:00

Weight: 10lb, 0oz

Blossoms

We went to The City for the afternoon. It was such a beautiful day, we packed a picnic and jumped into the car. This was Isabella's first trip to D.C.

April 6, 2005 18:24

Family Outing

We went all over and checked out the new WWII memorial

April 6, 2005 19:03

Zia Franca

We ventured back to Capital City for the weekend and took Isabella to visit Zia Franca at her work. She was so excited to get visitors and showed off her new niece to everyone in the store!

April 9, 2005 15:22

Zia Lella

While in the city, we stopped by to see Zia Lella at her work. She, too, showed off Isabella to everyone. We left here and walked pretty much accross the city to find 75 the Mickeys.

April 9, 2005 16:55

Sitting

Ok, so she can't really sit up by herself - we are just really fast with the camera . . . !

April 15, 2005 16:55

Weight: 10lb, 12oz

Patty Cake

The girls love playing patty cake with her. Like this: 'Mark it with an A and an H and a B and put it in the oven for Isabella and me'

May 18, 2005

Eating Cereal

We started her on solid foods! She loves to eat and makes lots of 'yummy' noises. It's pretty comical!

May 16, 2005

My Girls

We tried to get all of the girls together for a picture before Abbica's graduation from preschool

May 18, 2005

Pete

Shelby took the girls up to DE for her Godson's birthday party. This was the first time Isabella has met Pete.

May 21, 2005

Sophia

Uncle Joe is graduating from high school today. It was a good opportunity to get the cousins together

June 11, 2005

Paris's Babies

I think Paris likes babies as much as our girls!

June 11, 2005

Christening

Isabella was Christened today. David Bobon and Kristen Conord were the Godparents.

June 12, 2005

Messy Eater

Like I said, the girl loves to eat!

June 15, 2005

Carrots

We introduced carrots to her today. She is not fond of carrots.

June 16, 2005

Drinking From A Cup

She's not great at it, but she can get her hands around the handles and get it to her mouth.

June 18, 2005

Height: 23 inches
Weight: 13 lbs

Zio Stefano

We went to see Zie Franca and Lella for Father's Day. Zio Stefano was there with Mickey and Giovanni. After dinner, Isabella and her uncle took a little nap together.

June 19, 2005

Green Beans

Another new food. Another favorite.

June 23, 2005

Zucchini

I made 2 kinds of zucchini for her: baked and raw. She LOVES both of them (especially the baked).

June 28, 2005

Wave Pool

We got season passes to Kings Dominion this year and went for July 4. I took all 3 girls out into the wave pool to hop around.

Gotta start 'em loving the water young!

July 5, 2005

Carousel

Isabella's first ride on the ponies.

July 5, 2005

Beachscape

We spent our week beach trip in North Carolina with Shelby's family.

One day we travelled down to Myrtle Beach.

July 12, 2005

Eating Sand

Bella just loves the beach and all the treasures it can offer.

July 15, 2005

Cookie

We got her these teething cookies to chew on. Not that she's teething, but it gives her good practice in feeding herself.

July 12, 2005

Alligator Food

While in North Carolina, we spent a rainy day in the aquarium. How could I not get this picture?

July 14, 2005

Asleep On The Beach

The day we were supposed to leave, we took one last trip to the beach. Isabella was just too plumb tired to enjoy it.

July 17, 2005

Swinging

Isabella usually falls asleep on this swing. I like this picture because you can see all 3 girls.

July 25, 2005

Head's Up

Updates:

She can lift her head now and look around.

July 26, 2005

Rolling over

Blaaaaaaaaah! You can't get me!

Updates:

She can roll over and over and over

July 26, 2005

Bananas

Yummy!

July 27, 2005

Weight: 15 lbs

Pasta

Oh, this is another pasta-loving girl!

September 01, 2005

Height: 25.5 in
Weight: 15 lbs

Blah

She is such a happy baby and is always sticking out that tongue.

Updates:

She has a tooth!
She can feed herself.

September 01, 2005

The Bottle

Shelby went to Ocean City for a girls' weekend, so she pumped and left me home with 3 girls and a bunch of bottles. Now, neither of the other 2 would accept a bottle and we had never really offered to Isabella. We kept it cold and she took right to it! She even held it herself!

September 17, 2005

Biting Lip

She just started doing this. I'm not sure why, but it is very cute.

September 21, 2005

All Fours

She's not mobile, yet, but she is darn close!

September 21, 2005

Hiding

She can't move around too much, but she is good at crawling backwards! Here, she has backed herself into a corner.

September 21, 2005

Sisters

3 sisters. Just sitting there. Looking cute and adorable.

September 23, 2005

Nonno

She sure loves her Nonno.

September 25, 2005

Sitting Up

She is now able to sit herself up from the ground. She moves around by turning, then laying down, then sitting back up, then turning . . . .

October 07, 2005

Playing Ball

I started playing ball with her, today. She can sometimes figure out how to roll it back to me.

October 08, 2005

Crawling

We went to Hailey's back to school night last night. I put Isabella on the floor and . . .

Updates:

She started crawling!

October 12, 2005

Cowgirl

She always looks cute. No matter what she's wearing.

October 16, 2005

Pumpkins

The girls went to the Fall Festival at Cox Farm. Isabella got to sit in with the giant pumpkins.

Updates:

She started clapping today.

October 24, 2005

Candy Loot

Isabella's first Halloween and she got lots of candy that she can't yet eat. I have no idea what she is supposed to be.

October 31, 2005

Peanut

Jessica rescued this squirrel from hurricane Katrina. Now it is her pet and companion. Isabella could not get enough

November 11, 2005

Thanksgiving

This was Isabella's first Thanksgiving. We went to North Carolina and Shelby's parents used the big kitchen in "What's Cook'n" and opened up the dining room for the huge crowd.

Updates:

She just got a 3rd tooth. This time on the top.

November 24, 2005

Height: 28 in
Weight: 17 lbs

Christmas Card

So . . . this was Isabella's first family Christmas Card Photo. She seemed to like her part in it.

I wonder, though, if anyone is going to get the 'Mission Impossible' reference in that one gingerbread man . . . !

Originally, we had planned for Abbica to be pinned down, but I think the thought kind of freaked her out (maybe she's seen Charlie And The Chocolate Factory a few too many times) and Hailey wasn't into it either. Although, Hailey really seemed into smacking the little guy with the rolling pin. In fact, she insisted on using the big one.

December 04, 2005

Washing Hands

After making Christmas cookies, Isabella got to wash her hands. That night, she spent her entire bath playing in the running water.

December 04, 2005

Weight: 16lb, 5oz

Lollypop

Lollypops are Hailey's favorite food. She just can't help but to share this delight with her baby sister. I think she liked it.

December 08, 2005

Tree Trimming

We cut down our tree again this year and all 3 kids got to help decorate it. Ok, so maybe Bella didn't put many on the tree.

December 08, 2005

Sledding

We got some early snow this year and Jane came over to take the girls sledding. Isabella loved racing down the icy hill.

December 09, 2005

Santa

Isabella's first trip to see the big guy.

December 09, 2005

Loves Balls

Isabella loves all ball games. She plays catch, too!

12/15/2005

Christmas Morning

Isabella's first Christmas. All 4 girls were anxious and couldn't wait to come down and see what Santa had left. For each of the girls, Santa had already left a single present in their rooms waiting for them.

12/25/2005

The Best Pet Dog

Since we aren't responsible for a real dog, Santa brought us Sandy. Sandy can sit, speak, howl, beg, and shake! Best of all, no poop!

12/25/2005

What!?

What? A girl can't enjoy a little cookie?

12/29/2005

Bella Momma

We went to the beach on New Year's. Bella didn't go swimming.

01/01/2006

There It Is

She is pulling herself up onto everything, now. What's funny, here, is that I was looking for that VCR and then saw this picture pop up on the laptop!

01/09/2006

Standing

Well, she can stand! She has got some great balance, too. She can stand for at least a minute or two without falling.

01/10/2006

I Like To Move It, Move It

So, the DVD for Madagascar has this video to the song. Every time we play it, Isabella stops, stares at the TV and starts dancing. She can dance while sitting or standing. It is very cute.

01/11/2006

Silly Hat

Normally, she does not like Hats. This time, however, she seemed to enjoy it.

01/21/2006

Weight: 17.5 lbs

Chocolate Fountain

At some point, she just gave up on the fruit and just just stuck her hand in it. Hey, why deal with a middleman?

01/22/2006

Burrito

Isabella's first burrito from Burrito Brothers. We taught her to do it right.

02/03/2006

Sitting Up

We were in Ocean City without a high chair, so she got to sit at the table in a real chair for the first time.

02/04/2006

First Shoes

This girl just really loves to wear shoes!

02/09/2006

Hugs For Mom

Happy Birthday Bella!

02/11/2006

Birthday Cake

She really just picked the icing off of the cake.

02/11/2006

Feeding Baby

She got a babydoll for her birthday and just picked up a bottle and started feeding it to her doll. We didn't even know she would know to do that!

02/11/2006

Year 2

How cool is this? Our little baby is 1 year old!

NYC

Her first trip to New York and we experienced the subway. We even got to see a couple of kids come on and breakdance for money!

02/20/2006

Statue Of Liberty

Ok, so it's hard to see, but this was as close as we could get. This was from the Staten Island Ferry. There was a boat that went to Liberty Island, but we would have had to leave the stroller and stuff behind.

02/20/2006

Paparazzi

Awwww.... are we taking too many pictures?

Isabella likes to sit at the little table sometimes instead of being locked into her high chair.

02/24/2006

The Baby's New Clothes

Isabella is walking everywhere now! She never crawls anymore.

In fact, the other day, she ran accross the room, poked me in the belly with her finger and said, "Poke!"

02/26/2006

Using A Fork

She doesn't really enjoy eating with her hands anymore. My baby is growing up so fast!!

02/27/2006

Playing House

Isabella loves this house. Usually, she is hiding behind the door, waiting for someone to find her. Of course, Jane loves it, too. Either that, or she just loves to play the rainbow song.

03/11/2006

Cheez-Its

Well, the girl knows what she likes.

03/24/2006

Using A Spoon

Bella is becoming quite adept at using utensils.

03/25/2006

Head Down

So . . . Isabella loves flipping around. When she can't get Daddy to flip her, she does it herself. Not sure why, but she doesn't like to use her hands.

04/02/2006

Kings Dominion

Isabella got to enjoy a lot of rides this year.

04/02/2006

Bunny Time

Bella wasn't too crazy about this bunny.

04/12/2006

Cell Phone

I'm not sure which she likes more, phones or shoes. She is such a girl.

04/14/2006

Egg Hunt

Isabella's first egg hunt!

04/16/2006

Go Jess

Jessica finally got out of high school! YAY! We knew you could do it!

06/10/2006

July 4th

We visited Mike's parents for the 4th of July this year. It was thier first in the new house. Of course, Italy beat Germany in the World Cup Semifinals today. My dad was running around the house on this day waiving an Italian flag and screaming! At least it wasn't a British flag - because that would just be inappropriate.

07/04/2006

Swimming

WOW! Isabella is a great swimmer (for a 1-year-old). She swims around like a frog and if she can just figure out how to get her head out of the water, she'll be all over the pool

08/06/2006

Dorks

Jane and Ashley came over and got into the party favors!

08/13/2006

Anthony

My how Isabella loves her Anthony! When he is around, she follows him around until he picks her up.

09/04/2006

Nanny Nanny Boo Boo

HA! She sticks her fingers in her ears, yells, "na'ay boo," turns, and runs!

09/11/2006

Sprite

She is just so cute. Yes, she is drinking Sprite. I didn't give it to her, though.

09/11/2006

Fake Teeth

She found these laying around and tried to put them in. Then came walking around so we could all see how silly she is.

09/30/2006

Two Fingers

So, today, she started showing us two and three fingers. The other girls were more than two years old before they were able to do this!

10/04/2006

Painting

Good place to paint. These tables really come in handy.

10/08/2006

Halloween Loot

So, this was 'Bella's first realy Halloween. She wasn't too sure at first, but after a few houses, she figured out what was going on. In fact, she refused to be carried. She insisted that she walk to each door and beg for her own candy!

10/31/2006

Horsey Ride

So this is just too funny. 'Bella will ask Abbica to lay on the floor, then sit on her back, grab the back of her shirt and yell, "Giddap!" Abbica will walk around the room with 'Bella on her back and go back on her back legs screaming, "Neigh!" Isabella will usually fall off.

11/16/2006

Santa Dad

WOW! She really does not like the fat man (Santa, not Daddy). She was pretty freaked out when I woke her up like this. Later, she even watched me get dressed up in the costume, but as soon as that beard went on, she started backing away! She knew it was me and was still freaked. She even pointed at me and said, "Daddy" but wouldn't come anywhere near me.

11/18/2006

Hairdressing

02/01/2007

GGMom Day

02/03/2007

Year 3

Boots!

02/11/2007

Piano Players

03/10/2007

Kids On A Couch

03/10/2007

Easter Dresses

03/25/2007

Greenville

04/03/2007

Pittsburgh

04/21/2007

Cat Nap

05/29/2007

Bathing Piper

06/21/2007

Cutie

06/03/2007

Daniel

06/09/2007

Flag Dresses

06/17/2007

Feeding Piper

06/17/2007

Tickle Tickle

06/21/2007

Making Cake

06/21/2007

Jumping Into The Pool

07/26/2007

Making Faces

08/01/2007

Uncle Joe's Nieces

08/05/2007

Waiting Around

We waited for 3 days! Man did we have a lot of time to kill.

Getting Things Moving

Well, here we are! Any time now. Shelby is sooooo ready for this kid to come out. Meanwhile, we had lots of time to kill . . . .

09/10/2002

Big Shoes

Yeah. Lots of time!

09/11/2002

Abbica

Abbica & Mommy waiting for baby

09/11/2002

Big Sister To Bee

Of course, we had to make Abbica a shirt!

09/12/2002

Two Bees

Abbica & Daddy in their shirts

09/12/2002

The Arrival

The arrival of the beautiful Hailey Christine Biancaniello

Hailey Christine

The Beautiful Baby girl.

09/12/2002 11:46

Height: 19in
Weight: 7 lbs, 5 oz

Cleaning

Cleaning the baby!

09/12/2002 11:29

Watching

Nonna and Abbica watching Hailey get her first bath.

09/12/2002 13:56

The Hair

Not sure what color her hair is. It looks either an auburn or maybe dark with red hilights.... But definitely darker than Abbica was. We'll have to wait untill it grows in to find out.

09/12/2002 14:11

Abbica & Nonna

Abbica & Nonna holding Hailey

09/12/2002 12:14

Daddy

Daddy's little girl

09/12/2002 11:54

Mommy

Tired, tired Mommy after an intense 3 days

09/12/2002 11:56

Kisses

My goodness, Abbica is so good with Hailey. She just loves her to death.

09/12/2002 18:12

First Outfit

This is the first outfit in which Shelby has dressed her. She is so cute!

09/13/2002 10:57

It's A Baby!

'Magine that!

09/13/2002 16:32

She's Mine

All mine and you can't have her!!!

09/13/2002 16:37

Benji

This is Benji again! She came down with MaMa, and Abbica kept doing so many cute things while she was holding Hailey.

09/13/2002 16:32

Abbica

Oh my, how Abbica loves her baby sister!

09/12/2002 12:13

Jessica

Shelby's Family came down Friday after school.

09/13/2002 20:04

Blah!

Blah! Blah blah blah! Blah blah! Blah blah blah! Blah!

09/13/2002 20:04

Nonna

Thanks to Nonna for staying with Abbica during the 3-day ordeal!

09/12/2002 12:20

Ma-Ma

Thanks to Ma-Ma for staying with Abbica during the days after Shelby had Hailey! Also, thanks for washing and bringing to us some clothes to take her home in!

09/12/2002 16:02

Rasberry

Gotta have a picture like this, right?

09/13/2002 21:29

Sleeping On Daddy

All tuckered out and fast asleep. Just like her sister, she loves to be on her belly.

09/13/2002 22:15

Cutie

I took this picture while I was holding her.

09/14/2002 17:55

Sharing A Moment

Mommy & Baby sharing a moment together!

09/14/2002 5:58

D'OH

That's my girl!

09/14/2002 10:03

First Dress

We were so convinced that we were having a boy that Shelby didn't even pack a girl's outfit to take the baby home in! Her mom had bought her a dress that day, washed it and brought it to the hospital. It's actually not her first dress, but it is the first one she ever wore.

09/14/2002 11:26

Peek-A-Boo

So cute, she is. She kept covering her eyes.

09/14/2002 9:58

Dr. Stokes

Dr. Stokes . . . .

What can I say? He is a wonderful doctor and we hope he will be around for all of our children.

When he came to discharge us from the hospital, he put a hand on each of our shoulders as Shelby held Hailey and said a prayer over us.

He has waited out 2 3-day inductions for Shelby over the past couple years (no more inductions!!!). He is a patient man (maybe a bit too patient -- making a redhead in labor wait to pushing)!

09/14/2002 11:29

Sharon & Jen

Sharon & Jen were the nurses who attended to Shelby when Hailey was born.

They were so wonderful and Jen learned that when someone is in labor, you tell the doctor to get his butt over ; you don't have to be nice about it.

09/14/2002 11:39

Homecoming

After 9 long months, we finally get to bring our bundle home!

Going Home

In the carseat, ready to go home!!

She is so tiny.

09/14/2002 11:56

The Stork

Welcome to our home, Hailey!

09/14/2002 12:24

Our New Family

This is our new family. Isn't it grand?

09/14/2002 12:18

Uncle Sammy

Hailey was crying when we tried to take pictures before, so we retook some at home.

09/14/2002 12:24

Poppop

Hailey was crying when we tried to take pictures before, so we retook some at home.

09/14/2002 18:27

Nonno

Nonno and Nonna came to visit Sunday.

09/15/2002 15:56

Bath

This was Hailey's first bath at home and Abbica was so helpful.

09/15/2002 11:29

High Chair

She is such a peanut!

09/15/2002 12:59

Dave & Kristen

Aunt Kristen & Uncle Dave. Hey, we remembered to take a picture this time!!

09/19/2002 14:58

GGMom

GGMom (GreatGrandMom) stopped by with Nonna and Joseph tonight. Hailey is awake a lot more now and is smiling a lot, too!

09/19/2002 20:30

Uncle Joe

Joseph is crazy about this girl. He bought her a soccerball! I guess we're gonna have to watch some Freedom games together.

09/19/2002 20:20

Long Girl

She looks so long in this picture! She's finally starting to uncurl....

09/19/2002 15:48

Weight: 6lbs, 6oz

2 Weeks

A little more than 2 weeks old, here. She's growing fast.

09/28/2002 10:46

Weight: 7lbs, 6oz.

My Girls

My 2 babies!

09/28/2002 22:45

Sizes

As small as Abbica is, Hailey is so tiny!! They are going to make great sisters!!

Hailey is also getting some really good awake time, now. She is mostly sleeping through the night (waking up 1-3 times to eat), and the only time she cries is when she is hungry; that's when she wails!

09/28/2002 22:48

Just Let Me Sleep

'You wake me up one more time to take a picture and I swear I'm gonna start poopin' and screamin' and I'm not gonna stop!'

10/09/2002 18:26

Tickle

The girls are just so cute together!

10/14/2002 15:47

Bottle

It's just water, but Abbica sure felt important feeding Hailey!

10/16/2002 22:22

Grandkids

Pop-Pop & Ma-Ma with all of their grandchildren:

Michael
Joshua
Abbica
Hailey
Stephanie

10/20/2002 17:16

Nonna's Newst Angels

Nonna sitting with Paris & Hailey

10/27/2002 14:48

Cheerleader

Getting ready for the big game!!

10/27/2002 10:34

Pea Pod

Hailey as a pea-pod for Halloween. She turned 7 weeks old today!

10/31/2002 20:43

8 Weeks

What'chu lookin' at?

11/07/2002 21:26

2 Months

She is such a happy baby!!

11/12/2002 10:26

Jess's Babies

Jessica with her newest niece and nephew

11/22/2002 23:27

Santa Claus

She sat this year, but we'll see what happens next time!

12/01/2002 14:56

Big Eyes

All the better to see you with, my dear!

12/01/2002 16:56

What The-

12/01/2002 13:27

Full & Tired

Abbica took this picture

12/11/2002 18:28

Heads Up

She doesn't much like being on her belly, but she is really good at keeping her head up.

12/13/2002 19:18

Drinking From A Cup

Hailey didn't think too much of the water we put in there.

12/14/2002 23:54

Dressed Alike

Shelby loves dressing them like this.

12/21/2002 14:16

Giggling

She is such a happy baby all the time!

12/22/2002 19:03

Hailey & Paris

We had our annual Italian Christmas Eve dinner with Zie Franca & Lella. Hailey and Paris got to hang out.

12/24/2002 20:56

First Christmas

She was very good and quite content just sitting and watching all the excitement.

12/25/2002 14:18

Presents

Her first Christmas and she didn't know what to think!

12/25/2002 12:32

Mickey

Anything she can grab and stick in her mouth becomes her new favorite toy of the moment!

12/25/2002 14:02

Laughing

She is such a happy baby!

12/28/2002 15:09

The Neglectomatic

Ma Ma bought Hailey a swing for Christmas. Oh , how Hailey loves it!

12/29/2002 19:44

When In Boston

Nobody can go to Boston and not have a Sam . . . .

12/31/2002 20:11

Pulling The Sled

Abbica loved pulling Hailey around in the sled.

01/01/2003

Sledding

Hailey's first sledding.

01/01/2003

Haileybug

Abbica for some reason calls her Haileybug. We think it is because she heard Aunt Benji call Joshua 'Lovebug,' but we're not sure. Either way, it is cute.

Hailey keeps trying to roll over and is getting really close. She gets over on her side and her head down, but can't quite finish the roll. What really gets me is that she can't stand being on her tummy . . . so I'm not sure what's she's trying to accomplish.

01/10/2003

Eating Cereal

We started giving Hailey cereal today! She really seemed to like it. Pretty soon, she'll be starting on real food. Abbica just loved getting to feed her, too!

01/10/2003

Cousin Paris

We saw Kristen and Paris and did Christmas. Paris is growing fast.

01/12/2003

Teething Cookie

I don't really think she's teething, though she is drooling a lot. But this was her first cookie.

01/13/2003

Rolling Over

Well, she finally did it! She rolled over from her tummy to her back. I told you she didn't like being on her belly!

02/03/2003

Eating Feet

She found her feet today! What a discovery! Also, she is getting to be sooo chatty. Just this morning, she was cooing and blabbering and making all kinds of noises. She is also starting to give kisses, which is very, very cute.

Of course, she loves her big sister very, very much. Every morning, Abbica comes into our room and runs over to Hailey, gives her kisses, and pinches her cheeks saying, 'bella, bella.' Hailey just laughs and giggles.

02/05/2003

A Big Heart

While Daddy was sick as a dog back at home (Bronchitis/Pneumonia), the girls were lounging up in PA. Joshua and Hailey are so cute together. And apparently, Hailey is a big bully!

02/14/2003

Pizza Girl

Well . . . , she is Italian.

02/18/2003

6 Months

She rolled over again today! This time from her belly to her back. Then she kept rolling and rolling and rolling accross the floor!!

03/03/2003

Sitting Up

Not quite perfect, but she can sit for a couple seconds before she either falls over or trys to stand up!

03/09/2003

You Know I'm Cute!

Hailey is sitting up quite well, now. She can sit herself up from laying down. Even in the bath, she is now sitting up and playing.

03/27/2003

On All Fours

Not quite crawling, but she sure does try! She can get up on her knees and rock and can even move her knees, but can't quite get her hands to move her forward without falling on her face. She crawls backwards well, though.

03/28/2003

Monkey Girl

Ok, so she's not crawling yet. Maybe because she's too excited about walking. I mean, she sees us walking around all the time . . . . Anyway, she tries to stand up by herself, but can't figure out where to go from here.

03/28/2003

Easter Bunny

Hailey's first experience with the Bunny. Whe did quite well and was so happy!

04/06/2003

Banana

She's been eating real foods for a while now and we've even given her grilled porkchops and meatballs (mashed and/or ground up, of course). She so loves to eat . . . .

Well, she is officially crawling, now. She looks like a little robot! She is into everything! And she is starting to get to her feet (holding on, of course). Look out world!!

04/14/2003

Janes-In-The-Box

So, what's going on here? I'm not quite sure, but see we have this box. You know kids and boxes... why spend all the money on the stuff that's the box, when they end up playing with the box more? Anyway, these 2 are so cute together.

04/14/2003

Sitting In The Sand

We went to see Ma-Ma and PopPop for Easter this year. They have a new house near the beach. This was Hailey's first beach, sand, and ocean! She had a blast.

04/20/2003

Hailey In A Hole

She just loved everything about the beach. Especially how it tastes!

04/21/2003

Cheerios

So Hailey is now eating Cheerios. She loves trying to pick them up in her little fingers.

She is now standing very well while holding on, and likes to walk along our coffee table and clear off all the pictures!

05/07/2003

Toothless Grin

She is such a happy baby. We don't know if she is starting to talk yet or not, but she sure is trying hard. She will babble nonsencically for a minute at a time and shelby says she heard her say 'cup.' She says 'aba' for Abbica and 'ahh-bbbbbbttt' for Mommy! And Nonna swears she heard her say 'ok.'

05/16/2003

Feeding Herself

Hailey is getting to be so independant! She doesn't like to be spoonfed anymore as she prefers to use her hands and pick up food off of her plate or tray. We gave her some hamburger and corn and peas and she really does get most of it in her mouth!

Updates:

Hailey's first tooth is breaking through! It is on the bottom right (her left) and we can see the slit, now. So it should be up and about any day now!

05/24/2003

Shopping

So, we brought this thing up from downstairs and now Hailey is able to pull herself up on it and cruise around the house!

Updates:

She called me 'Da Da' today. So I suppose all of that babble really was her trying to talk to us, eh?
She can stand for about 5 seconds on her own!
Hailey started climbing the steps! She can climb the 2 steps from our great room to the foyer!

05/25/2003

Eating Watermelon

We gave Hailey watermelon for the first time today. She absolutely loved it!!

05/25/2003

Rockers

They are such cute sisters!

06/13/2003

Jess's Babies

Aunt Jess and her two babies

06/14/2003

In The Kitchen

So, Hailey discovered the kitchen a while ago. Now that she can stand, she loves playing in it.

06/15/2003

Hide & Seek

Abbica has been finding hiding places all over, now. She can fit inside almost anything. Hailey's pretty good at finding her, too!

Updates:

Hailey now has 2 teeth showing on the bottom and there are more coming in on the top. The poor girl is absolutely miserable.
She can stand for a good 30 sec now and sometimes will try to take a step - she's so brave!

06/21/2003

Tackling Daddy

Hailey has such a good time in the pool (as long as it's not too cold, that is).

06/25/2003

Baby Boo

Shelby was in The Disney Store with the girls and Hailey saw this baby doll and just went crazy over it!

06/27/2003

Sing Along Road Trip

So the girls just had a blast at O.C. for July 4th. This was Hailey's first ride without Mommy!

06/21/2003

Eating Pizza

Yummy! We went to Chuck-E-Cheese for Abbica's 3rd birthday and Hailey had her first pizza. That's my little pizza girl!

Updates:

Clear as day, Hailey announced, "I want a drink!"

07/29/2003

New Clothes

Ma-Ma and Poppop sent these to the girls. Hailey is just starting to stand really well on her own now!

08/09/2003

Using A Fork

She is actually not bad with a fork. But she usually give up after a bite or two and either uses her fingers or dumps all her food onto the floor!

08/10/2003

On The Potty

She is absolutely obsessed with this thing! I have no idea why, though. She has peed and pooped on the potty so far, though I suspect that since she sits around all day peeing and pooping anyway, that it was just a coincidence. I do, however, believe that she understands the pees and poops are supposed to come out while she is on the potty, I just don't think she understands that is supposed to make it happen.

08/21/2003

Cloak Invisible

HAHA, She actually thinks she is invisible! She crawls around bumping into walls and stuff. She has no idea...

Updates:

3 days ago, Hailey came running into the kitchen to say hi to Shelby! Now, she refuses to crawl anymore!

08/22/2003

Sliding

She just loves sliding. She will climb up the steps and slide down the slide all day long . . . !

08/29/2003

Hailey Potter

This picture just makes me laugh!

09/01/2003

I'm Gonna Get You!

Hailey loves roughhousing and horseplay. And she really loves 'getting' people. She will even get really close to you, lean in, and say, 'BOO!' It is absolutely adorable.

09/03/2003

First Birthday!

It's been a great first year. I can't believe her birthday is here already!!

09/12/2003

Year 2

It's been a great first year!

Pony Ride

Oh my, how she loves to ride a pony. We had pony rides for her birthday party.

09/13/2003

Height: 27 in
Weight: 17 lbs

Bunnies

The pony people also brought a petting zoo with them. Just like her sister, Hailey really loves animals

09/13/2003

Spinning

Hailey and Abbica get along pretty well (unless they're tired) and love playing with each other. Their new thing is to sit Hailey in a chair, while Abbica spins her!

09/18/2003

Eating Cereal

Her first bowl of cereal with milk and a spoon.

09/19/2003

Cleaning

Shelby likes putting Hailey to work.

Updates:

Hailey is finally getting her 3rd tooth! After only, what, like 3 months of just 2?

09/20/2003

Chickenbone

Well... the girl loves chicken!

09/23/2003

Waiting For Daddy

Every day, they sit outside and wait. I like to think they spend all day waiting for Daddy to come home!

09/24/2003

Peas And Carrots

This is Hailey's friend Mary.

10/05/2003

Painting

Hailey loves to paint. Seriously, the girl thinks she is 3 and tries to do everything Abbica does.

10/22/2003

Halloween

Haileybug dressed as a ladybug. Makes sence to me.

10/31/2003

All The Candy

After a great night of trick-or-treating, the girls sat down to a pile of candy. This was Hailey's first time.

10/31/2003

Lunch At The Counter

Like I said.... Hailey thinks she's 3. She's just a little short.

11/06/2003

Making Faces

I swear, I didn't teach this! Must be in the genes.

11/23/2003

Goldfish Mess

Well, the girls sure made a mess of the goldfish. At least they are good about cleaning up after themselves.

12/05/2003

Hairbow

Her hair is finally long enough to hold a bow! Shelby is so proud!

12/07/2003

Corn On The Cob

With only a handfull of teeth, she does a pretty good job!

Updates:

Hailey currently has 4 top and 3 bottom teeth. Hopefully, the rest will be in shortly!

12/11/2003

First Impressions

Hailey's first Christmas in which she could really participate! The girls were both so excited when they came downstairs and saw all the gifts!

12/25/2003

Opening Presents

She was so excited. She went on opening one gift after another!

12/25/2003

Feeding Baby

Hailey is really into babydolls now. She feeds them and rocks them and really takes care of them.

12/25/2003

Sitting In A Box

Not sure what the deal is, but she really loves boxes.

12/25/2003

Paper House

The girls really like hiding out in this house.

12/25/2003

Rocking Horse

Hailey and Joshua both got their very own rocking horses!

12/27/2003

Painting

We try to direct her to paper when she wants to draw.

01/15/2004

On The Potty

So, I was on my way to do laundry today, when I passed by the bathroom and saw Hailey trying to put the Elmo seat on the pot. I told her, 'No Hailey' and continued to the laundry room. That's when I heard her scream, clear as day, 'I HAVE TO GO POTTY!!!!' I shrugged and figured, 'what the hey.'

I put the seat up there and took off her pants and her diaper which had a little bit of poop in it. Then I looked and realized that more was coming out of her INTO THE POTTY. I'll spare you the details (which are actually quite humorous), but she peed, too! That's why she's eating cookies....

01/17/2004

Working From Home

While I'm working, the doors are closed and the girls know not to disturb me. I guess sometimes, you just can't resist the old 'face in the glass' bit.

01/26/2004

Hiding

Hailey loves to play hide-and-seek. In fact, sometimes she hides when nobody else is playing and just waits.

01/31/2004

Zia Franca

Just a random trip to the Zoo and Zia Franca wasn't working, so we all had a great time!

02/29/2004

Swimming

What a fish! Hailey can swim under water and everything. Fearless, she is.

03/07/2004

First Haircut

This was Hailey's first haircut. Not that she has much hair to cut off, but we had to get rid of the mullet!

03/21/2004

Yogurt

She thinks she's 2. And she'll tell you that. In fact, she'll argue with you about it. But if her sister sits on a stool, then so must Hailey.

03/25/2004