The children had a wonderful Christmas!!! Of course mom and dad are now broke but it's worth it. Gianna asked me if Santa was coming again when she woke up the day after Christmas(lol). Gianna loves to open up things, especially with small pieces, and dump them all over. Plus she is not the best at cleaning up. So right now it looks like Toys R Us exploded in our living room. Her favorite toys she received was her Wiggles video and a tea set

that changes color when you put liquids in the little cups. We had many tea parties yesterday. I am trying to encourage pretend play and I think the tea set was a big hit! Now we are just chilling out at home, enjoying spending time together, and eating,eating, eating. Tom has been off all week also so it has been nice to just be together. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. Happy New Year to all!!!!!!!!!!

On Sunday we went to the annual holiday party sponsored by Variety. The party was held at The Crystal Tea Room downtown(fancy shmancy) .I cannot say enough wonderful things about the experience. Everyone was so kind and treated all of the children like little kings and queens. Gianna had a blast. There was a DJ,Elmo,Cookie Monster,clowns(Gianna was afraid of them), and a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Claus. There was a wonderful lady there who made knit caps for children who lost their hair while going through chemotherapy. She made hats for all of the children there. It was truly a magical and memorable day for my little princess. We also walked through Macy's,which was beautifully decorated for the holidays, and saw the Holiday Light Show. Kudos to Variety Philadelphia!! Here Gianna is with some new friends she met after getting their new knit caps. Each child also was assigned two escorts. Monique and Jade were Gianna's and they were so wonderful.

Gianna was in love with Santa. She was batting her eyelashes, talking very low, and kept smiling at him and looking away. It was so darn cute! She did manage to tell him she would like some toys. He gave her a taffy and she was so happy. I rarely see her act that way. She is usually not shy-except around her buddy Erik (my niece's husband) Gianna absolutely adores Erik and talks about him constantly.

Tommy would not even come along with us. He said, "Mom, everybody knows that's not the real Santa". So I just took Gigi. We shopped, rode the merry-go-round, and ate lunch. We had a nice mommy-daughter day out. These are the days I wish I was a stay at home mom!

Happy Holidays to all!!!!!!!!!!

What a little ham! Gianna has this crazy curly hair as you can see in all her pictures. So on Sunday I straightened it. I held her up to look in the mirror and she said in the cutest little voice, "Mommy, I'm not a girl anymore" I thought that was so adorable. Here she is with her "boy hairstyle". I love you Gigi!!!

Gianna had a blast trick or treating! She finally understands this whole "Halloween Thing" and was asking for seconds at each house we visited-the funny part was they were all giving them to her! She had more candy than her brothers.

Today we visited Sesame Place in Langhorne, PA. Variety sponsors two events for children with disabilities and their families each year at this wonderful theme park. I personally prefer the one in the spring because it is not as cold. But we had fun. Here is a picture of Gianna and dad(he's the one with the glasses-haha) Gianna loves Big Bird and we get a picture taken with him and Elmo every visit. Cousin Natalie came for a visit on Saturday. We had a blast dancing to music and eating pizza. Natalie lives in Lansdale so we don't get together much. But when we do we have so much fun!

Happy 4th Birthday Princess!!! We love you so very much and are so proud of you. You work so hard every day and bring us so much joy!!!

Love,

Daddy,Mommy,Frankie and Tommy

My nephew and his wife recently had a new addition to the family-A daschund they appropriately named Stretch. Gianna loved playing with him at my mom's house on Labor Day.

She just loved his puppy kisses.

Here are some recent pictures of Gianna during a recent hippotherapy session at Pegasus Riding Academy. She started last October and goes once a week. Although it took some time getting used to, she seems to enjoy going now. I think at first she felt a little insecure and unstable on the horse and was afraid. If Gianna feels as though she is going to fall or loses her balance she gets a little nervous. She has been this way since she was an infant. Just laying her on her back to change her diaper made her scream in terror. I have really seen an improvement in her upper body strength and overall balance. She also loves her therapists Miss Ami amd Miss Viva. Right now she recives OT,Speech and extra Private OT provided by our local hospital's outpatient program. She is also on a waiting list for private PT including Aqua Therapy. We want to do as much as we can now while she is young.She is such a hard little worker! Her summer program ends tomorrow so we have a few more weeks together before I return to get my classroom ready and she starts EI services again at SPIN. I am happy that she will remain in Miss Nicole's room. She is a wonderful teacher and Gianna loves her so. I'll be busy enjoying my last few weeks of summer and busy preparing for school to start-before long I'll be staring at 24 little 5-year-olds with that terrified look on their faces as they start kindergarten. Sounds crazy but I cannot wait- I love my job! Happy end-of-summer!!!

In this picture Gianna is all geared up for her last day of school. In a few weeks she will start in the summer program at SPIN. Part of me wants to keep her home with me all summer but I know that she needs to keep up with her therapies. She also loves to play with other children and we have no small children her age in our neighborhood. Since she enjoys school so much and loves her teachers, Miss Nicole and Miss Maryellen, we decided to send her. We do get to enjoy her every day until July 9th!!!!

Just checking in. I have had very little time to post. Been busy packing my classroom up because I received my transfer to another school. I am so excited!!! After 13 years of working in a very rough and tough inner city school I am finally moving to a school 4 minutes from my home-yay!!! I am also just minutes from all 3 of my kids' schools. Gianna is doing well and is one step closer to being potty trained! She is loving her new occupational therapist and loves school.However,she has not been too crazy lately about riding the horses at hippotherapy but we are pushing her.My last day until our summer break is Wednesday and I can't wait. I get to be home with the kids all day until September. I am really looking forward to it. Look out summer here we come!!!

Sleeping Beauty.... I was looking through old photos from when Gianna was born. I just love this picture. Of course it was a very rare moment when she was sleeping this peaceful. She was a little fuss pot from early on. Look at those lips!!!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is nothing greater than being a mom. I love my children with all my heart. I am so proud of all three of them and every day I am blessed to have them in my life. So Frankie,Tommy, and Gianna............I love you!!!!!

She did WONDERFUL!!! Gianna was in her first wedding and I must say she did a super job. Here are some pictures!!! At the reception she was in her element socializing with everyone and posing for the camera. We all had so much fun. The new Mr. and Mrs. are now enjoying themselves in Mexico.

Happy Spring!!! The weather has finally changed!! We have been outdoors a lot lately and Gianna loves it. I think she would sleep outside if we let her! In 11 more days she will be in her first wedding. I sure hope she does OK. She has a wonderful personality but at times she can be stubborn. She gets that from her Mommy;)

Hola!!!!-Been awhile since I posted. We have been busy with work,school therapies,strep throat,ear infections,nasty stomach viruses,etc...... can't wait for spring! Gianna is going to be a flower girl in my nephew's wedding in May. Here she is at the bridal shower wearing a sombrero decorated with the bows and tulle from the gifts. Gianna loved the shower and was her usual social self-She stole the show! Can't wait for the wedding!!!!!