It's Been Awhile

So shame on me for taking this long to write again.  So much has happened in 3 months.  We went home for a brief moment during Easter, Gia has started saying mama and dada, we traveled to Orlando for a wedding and Disney, and now we are preparing for a return trip to OH for my sisters graduation party.  

Updates on Gianna and Tessa.  Gia is now rolling and almost crawling.  She has crawled to my phone but it just wasn't quite enough for me to consider her crawling.  Tessa is wild as usual.  She definitely has quite the personality.  She is very independent but cuddly at the same time and she just loves playing with other kids.  She did so good at Disney with kids at the pool and meeting her new friend Ayva. 

Orlando was a blast.  It was VERY hot, but very fun.  Tony, Kristin, Ella, and my mom stayed with us for most of the trip.  We went to Hollywood Studios, Epcot, Magic Kingdom, and Island of Adventure.  I have to say I am quite impressed with Islands of Adventure, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was by far the best thing in Orlando...it was so much fun.

Here are some pics of all of us at the parks.

 

 

Kristin and I tasting our first butterbeer!  It was quite yummy.

Tessa Loving Her Lollipop

Tony finally found a hat too SMALL for his head

Ella and Gia hanging out stroller style

Tessa and Princess Ariel at Akershus Dinner

Tink and the Girls

My Mom with her granddaughters

Family pic..minus Gia who was sleeping

 

Hello World...Again

So it has been a quite some time since I posted something.  With all the stress that BOA gave us and then the move...I finally am able to take a few moments and write about what has happened thus far.  

So we moved in...that was quite a fiasco in itself.  We went from a bare home to home filled with boxes.  There was so much going on all at once...we had the move, the kids, the dogs, and family visitors.  Bob and Jean came up for a visit and that did help us out a lot.  Between counting kids and animals, it was nice to have an extra set of eyes and hands.  

We did a little bit of sightseeing with them, although I wish we could of done more but there was just too much to do with getting somewhat settled in.  We visited NYC, IKEA, and a tiny touch of Downtown Westfield.  It was a nice visit!

Since then I have spent the majority of my time organizing and working.  Of course, as it would be work is very busy right now.  But its good because living here is very expensive.  So the extra money will be nice.  

I found the most amazing mall...seriously Beachwood on Sterioids..this mall has everything high end you could imagine and I am sure it is great for people watching.  The wealthy migrate to this mecca to shopping.

We really have done a great job getting everything unpacked.  The home is somewhat organized, but now we have to figure out what to paint the rooms.  That is always a big stress for me because I am so darn picky.  

I have not taken pics of the home yet...I will get on that.  I just want a little more decorated before I start snapping away.  What's to come now?  Well we have a visit from Kim and Diane...NYC here we come!!!!  Then there is a trip home for Easter then we have Disney at end of May and hopefully a visit from my brother and Genni.  So lots to keep my mind off of not being with my family.  Although I am not going to lie..I had a breakdown yesterday about being out here.  Thanks mom for talking me through it all..I really needed it. 

Update

Well we supposedly should have keys by Friday...although I am not trusting Bank of America (BOA) as far as I can throw them.  To say this has been an easy process would be a lie.  From the beginning we have had our challenges.  Here is our timeline that did NOT go smoothly for our relocation:

• May--find out Luke is taking a position in New Jersey--dreadfully had to tell our family this one--winner of one who took the hardest initially--My mom
• June--we put the home on the market--this actually was the easiest process of all--road bumps on this--interviewing realtors that DHL approved.  We really wanted to enlist our friend Denise, but because of these strict rules we were unable to.  I am sure she would of made the process easy for us.
• June-September:  showings upon showings upon showings.  We showed our home over 40 times in that span--downfall of this--I was pregnant, Luke was traveling, and I had a 2 year old with a lot of energy.
• September--Gia is born AND home gets sold all in a matter of few days apart.  Nothing like welcoming our beautiful baby girl into the world and having an offer put in while in the hospital.
• November--going away party and Thanksgiving--my last Thanksgiving (unless my loving family wants to take a trip up to us and celebrate--come one we have the Thanksgiving Day Parade to entertain everyone)--this was hard to say goodbye to our friends and family again.  Another bad thing--my mom being disappointed that the going away party was not a surprise 60th party for her.  Sorry mom!
• November 29th to January 1st--hotel living at its finest.  Celebrating Xmas in a hotel is not fun--although if I celebrate it McCauly Caulkin style in Home Alone I do not think I would of been sad.  January 1st at 2 AM--had to say goodbye to Kristin--that was a very hard day--Note to Kristin--saying goodbye to you and Kim was very hard for me--you two are very important to me and my girls life---I promise to always make sure that we keep the special bond between all of us and that Gia and Tessa stay connected to her two aunts back in Ohio and Aunt Trisha in California...its very important they know and love their aunts who are special and strong women for them to look up to.
• January 1st--departure for New Jersey Day--winner of who took it the hardest that day--Kim and Melissa.  Actually short story--we were packing up and Kim had not come yet and I literally thought we were not going to get to say bye to her--I had a moment where I needed to walk away because I truly started to cry.  Reality had set in.
• January 1-3rd:  Tony visits with us for a few days after helping us move out here.  It was fun having him around and showing him briefly New York City.  Winner for Most Excited to visit Little Italy--Tony.  PS--tony bought Ella a little statue of liberty souvenir which proceeded to break on the plane--well she still has a little memento.  
• January 5th:  home searching began--saw about 10 homes in one day--found our current home and another we really liked.
• January till present--offer, contract, inspection all went relatively smooth with a few hiccups along the way.  Now we are at the BOA (mortgage) area and this has been any thing but fun.  FYI for future home buyers, do not use BOA.  I really have nothing good to say about them at all.

So here you have it, we are hoping to be in by Friday but you just never know.  If we are in, I will post pics of all the rooms before and then I will do an after.  It should be a fun process.  What Luke and I want to capture on tape is the movers pulling up with a semi and another half truck and figuring out how all that crap is going to fit in this tiny home.  For those of you who had never been to our home in Ohio it was about 3400 square feet and had a huge unfinished basement and three car garage.  Our present home is 1600 square feet including the finished basement and has a one car garage.  Lets just say that a huge garage sale is in order.

Hanging In

It's been a few days since I have posted anything.  Everything is right now in the hands of the mortgage people.  We are in underwriting and awaiting to ensure everything is submitted properly and we do not need to provide anything else.  This probably more frustrating than the home inspection....simply because we are using a VA loan and there are way more requirements to this than a conventional loan.  Which I know is not a bad thing, but its just flirting with my patience.  So, I guess I will just post a few pics of the girls from the last few days.  Hope everyone is doing great!!!!

Chillin

Daddy painting her nails--notice COD headset!!!! 

Teaching Tessa his COD Moves

Happiest Baby!!!

Loving her Mickey Balloon--Best $5 Babysitter yet!

Super Bowl Champs

Well finally we are in a town that has something to celebrate.  I woke up this morning at 6 am, turned on the news, and already Times Square was filled with people and Giants fans were on the go buying up anything saying super bowl champs. It's crazy...one store called Modell's Sport Store was open all night in celebration of the Giants big win over the Patriots.  Needless to say there will be I am sure plenty of Union drivers calling off today at work for Luke because of this win.  Tomorrow they are having the parade for the Giants and are only allowing 500 people out in the area...the tickets are on a lottery system...I wonder how much they will go for you end up being picked in the lottery?

Luke and Fox News Morning Show

Luke's fantasy has come true!  He was on Fox News Morning Show in NYC and he got a picture taken with Steve Doocy. He really wanted a picture with Gretchen Carlson but all he got to do was say hi while she was getting coffee...I am sure that was enough for him. Watch for us tomorrow (2/4) on Fox News Morning Show at 6:30 AM...Tessa, Gia, Luke, and I will making a trip at 4:30 AM to be on the show for DHL's Pizza for Patriots.

Luke with Steve

Who he would like to meet--Gretchen

What a Big Girl

Gia is doing so good holding a bottle on her own.  At night I just hand her the bottle and she eats her food and falls back to sleep...makes it very easy on me! It took Tessa a very long time to get to this stage...just goes to show every baby is different :)

Oh also..monumental...Gia rolled over from her back to her stomach two days ago and from her stomach to her back yesterday.  Little booger is on her way to becoming a little girl!

Gia Holding Bottle 2/1/2012