Should we be worried or not?

I found my daughter in this postion after turning my back for a few moments to clean up the kitchen. Now, I did put the Ipod down for her to entertain herself, but come on Ava! The phone too!?!?!

Totally Bragging

I am so proud of Ava. She may be the youngest in her gymnastics class, but at yesterday's class she got the gold star! She was the only one following directions and trying all the "moves". She was so cute jumping around, making loud noises in excitment, somersaults, splits, crab walk (sorta), back rolls, balance beam AND balance beam on her tiptoes; her favorite part of class, picking out her own sticker. She's been doing good the entire class, but yesterday was her best! Don't worry I'm not a "stage" mom, just a proud mommy.

I just love this video we took of her at home one night...and this was before class started.

More and More Snow can be Fun

SNOW, SNOW, SNOW. We have had so much, even Ava likes it now. We have gone from crying and fussing every time we went out into the winter weather, to Ava dropping everything she's doing to just get on her boots and snow bib. The crunchy sound makes her smile and the proud look on her face every time she ventures out into the deep of it makes me giggle.

Now get out of that blizzard girl and come back inside! (you see her, way out there in the thick of it)...

It was like she had always been with us. After a few minutes of introductions, Yamrot was done with the formalities and shyness! Let's play, learn new words, use the Iphone, eat spaghetti, play the piano (loudly of course), be chased around by Nonna, hide behind a few doors, and hugs and kisses for "AWA". Yammi is absolutely beautiful and sweet. I can't wait to go up and see her again. She makes us all smile and we are so lucky my sis and her family have opened their hearts to such a blessing. PLUS, she says "Hi TaTa!", how can I not love her already!

Winter is dragging along and this week brings along colds in our house. BLAH, boring, gross piles of snotty tissues, too much indoor time, too much time allocated to browsing for new clothes online (which I don't need), and too much time to think about life. One of my biggest adjustments as a Mom has been my need to be involved with the world...which as you can see only revolves around my family right now. Don't get me wrong I LOVE my family, but I am restless and am always drawn to do more. What is that? I have no idea, but something is always pulling me.

I have known my husband for 15 years now and have been lucky in love. He has always worked way harder than me on his career, which has allowed me to keep looking for my ultimate job, which by the way, in case you didn't know, really doesn't exist. I thought being a stay at home Mom was just what I wanted. I do LOVE it most days but there is still that something pulling at my heart.

My parent's taught me well; work hard to get what you want, take pride in your work, tighten up those stomach muscles and take a deep breath to get through the hard times, and NEVER settle for anything less than you are capable of. To the point...it's ingrained in me to want to do more than stay home and tend to my household. My sister is off in Africa adopting our new addition to the family. Now that's doing more! What can I do to make a difference in the world, no matter how small or how large? Thanks to my Mom and Dad for making me such a restless soul (and I mean this in a good way)!

OH MAN, winter has gotten to me again hasn't it!

Well, I'll take that deep breath, tighten up those muscles and realize I will find more of what I want through my daughter's eyes. She will help me do more and she will encourage me to be a bigger and better person at whatever lies ahead.

If your kid isn't watching Yo Gabba Gabba they are missing out! This is how Ava enjoys her 1/2 hour of tv...that's right she wears her sunglasses!

Welcome to Twenty Ten

WHAT, WAIT, When did 10 years take place? REALLY? I had a great conversation with My Aunt Rosanna and we both agreed the older we get the worse those ten years sound...she reminded me to enjoy every minute of being in my 30's, they are the best, and to just wait, turn 60 and ten years really means something then...that made me laugh out loud.

So much has passed and I hate that I don't spend enough time blogging and writing down our day to day lives. I seem to have my best blog moments at 2 o'clock in the morning, but I 'm too annoyed at the the snoring to even bother writing about my life.

Ava has grown another inch and her brain seems to be in warp speed. Today she asked me for a bowl, two days ago she let me know she needed "wawa" (water) and I almost cried. That's the first time she really communicated something she wanted to me. It's moments like that which remind me why I decided to be a stay at home Mom...I may have missed it, and how cool it is to listen to her form her first words. Mama, Dada, Baba (serbian for grandma), Nonno & Nonna (italian for grandpa & grandma), Tata (a slang form of aunt in italian), Boo, Bird, Ball, Boot, Anna, Wawa, and she says Mailman in a round about way every time he drops off mail.

My favorite new Ava moment....her wearing sunglasses while I call her a movie star. She giggles with glee when I ask her for an autograph and struts off after scribbling on a piece of paper with a pencil. What would I do with out this girl who makes me smile, laugh, and roll my eyes.

That's all I have for today...which by the way has taken me a week to finish. My New Year's Resolution, WRITE MORE so I don't forget it all! Happy New Year to all my friends and family.