The life of a two year-old!

This weekend we had a lot of fun as a family. We dog-sat Uncle Tommy and Aunt Danielle's dog, Tank, who is one of Mia's sons. Gabby loved having him around the house - she talked about Mia a couple of times while Tank was with us. His presence must have reminded her of Mia and all the fun things they would do together.

This weekend we enjoyed the beautiful weather by taking walks in the neighborhood, strolling down Mass St. in downtown Lawrence and spending time at the swimming pool. What a fun summer weekend!

Gabby sporting her new Little Mermaid (one of her favorite movies) nightgown given to her by Nonna. She loved it so much she wore it two nights in a row. Here is a photo of her the first night after her bath. She posed on the staircase for me. After she put it on, she kept saying, "Mommy, it's beautiful!" What a doll!

The next night, she insisted that she wear it again. This time she found a headband (a gift from Nana) in her toy box and thought the nightgown needed the perfect accessory.

Saturday morning enjoying a chocolate donut!

After taking a long walk on Saturday evening, Gabby wanted to try out some golf in the front lawn with Daddy (with a soft golf ball). That club is taller than Gabby!

David helping Gabriella with her golf swing.

Gabriella with Tank. They had a great time together this weekend. We enjoyed having a four-legged friend in the house again. We hope he visits us again some time soon!

After our walk this evening, we all enjoyed popsicles (Flavor Ice).

Family, Friends and Fireworks!

Our computer needed repairs so we haven't been able to post photos from last weekend until today. On Saturday, we spent the afternoon with the Hardys at the Topeka Zoo and in the evening we had Gabriella's godfather, Pat, and our friends Matt and Jess and their 4-month old son, Bennett, over for dinner in the evening. We had a really fun day!

Gabby and Bennett playing with Bennett's toys together. Gabby got a dry run at this whole big sister thing! She did a pretty good job.

We told Gabby to sit by Bennett and she decided to lay down next to him for the photo - pretty cute!

Giving Bennett some love! Gabby really enjoyed being around a baby on Saturday night.

Feeding baby goats with Grandpa at the zoo. Gabby was really excited for the goats to eat right out of her hand. Check out the expression on her face!

Gabby, Nana and Grandpa checking out the birds.

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4th of July

Sorry for the late upload of 4th of July photos! We had a great day! Gabby loved spending time at the pool and the fireworks in the evening! Hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th!

Fresh summer fruit...yum!

Daddy and Gabriella hanging out before heading to the fireworks show in downtown Lawrence.

A Sneak Peek at 26 weeks

Finally some photos of our baby girl! Our scanner has had some issues recently and we now have a new one to show sonogram photos. Hooray! On Thursday, we caught a glimpse of our new baby girl! Gabriella joined us for the viewing and it was a lot of fun! A couple of times Gabby said, "Baby Sister!" when we looked at the screen. It was really special!

Baby Girl #2 looks good and was pretty active for the sonographer. We probably have another peanut on the way as she is measuring small for her gestational age. Gabby was born in the 20-30 perentile for height and weight and continues to hover in the high teens and low twenties. As this time, Baby Girl #2 is measuring in the 25th percentile. At the next doctor's visit, they will measure again to see how she is growing. We hope and pray that she continues to grow and will just be a little peanut like her big sister!

Below are a few images from the sonogram. The first two are of her face. She has her hands in front of her face on the first two and her mouth is open in the second one. The third image is her feet. We can't wait to meet her!

Visit to Pennsylvania

On June 24 we left for Pennsylvania to visit Samantha's extended family in New Castle. We spent 5 days with many family members we only get to see maybe once a year. We also celebrated Samantha's grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary while visiting. It was a wonderful time and went by very quickly.

While in town, we stayed with Gabriella's godmother (Samantha's cousin) Marlynn, her husband Jason and their two darling sons Jason (Samantha's godson) and Andrew. Gabby LOVED playing with her cousins and has talked about them quite a few times since we left on Monday. We all had a great time and hope to visit again some time soon!

On Jason's last day of Bible Camp, we attended his School's carnival. Jason and the other children had a small music program in the morning. Afterward, there were activities and treats for all the kids. Gabby and Andrew had their faces painted. Gabby got a flower and Andrew got a basketball. Gabby's cousins Markie and Melina were also at the carnival so we had a chance to hang out with several cousins that morning. The Bible Camp was held at Samantha's former elementary school so it was nice to return after 18 years to see that things haven't changed too much!

Gabriella and Andrew (aka Double Trouble) sporting their fun new hats that MeMa and Nonna bought for them. Don't they look a lot like Jayhawks?! Gabby and Andrew are only three weeks apart in age!

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On Thursday, June 25, Great-Grandma and Grandpa Fiorante celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary! What a blessing! On June 26, the Fiorante family celebrated with a dinner at a local favorite Italian Restaurant. It was very wonderful day for everyone! 

After dinner, Great-Grandma and Grandpa cut their anniversary cake at their house. We also took many family photos to honor their special day!

Great-Grandpa and Grandma with their 10 grandchildren, 3 of their grandchildren-in-law and their 3 great-grandchildren

Great-Grandma and Grandpa Fiorante with their four children and 3 children-in-law.

The three great-grandchildren - Andrew, Jason and Gabriella

Visiting with the Manginos at Great-Grandma Connie's - Aunt Julie, Aunt Mari, Markie, Melina and Nonna. Gabby enjoyed playing and eating lollipops with Melina and Markie!

Gabby, Mommy and Great-Grandma Connie

Mommy, Gabriella and Great-Grandma Madeline

Gabriella and Great-Grandpa Sam

Gabby with Marlynn, her godmother.

5 years ago today...

 We were married! What a wonderful five years it has been! Can't wait to see what the future holds for us and our family.

 June 26, 2004

Processing out of the church.

Our first dance to "At Last" by Etta James

Hole #9 at Alvamar Country Club 

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day, Daddy! Today was a lovely and relaxing day. David loved his gift - a new Callaway driver. He plans to hit the golf course soon so he can try it out. After church, we went over to Nonna and G-Pa's. We gave G-Pa his gift and enjoyed the afternoon at the pool. Here is a photo of David and Gabriella after a day in the sun. It was a hot and sunny day - definitely feels like summer!

Big Girl moments

Many exciting things going on in our household! With the anticipation of the baby's arrival, Gabriella has been taking the Big Sister role very seriously. Potty-training is going well. She is telling us when she has to go to the potty and is confident using the potty. She is still going in her Pull-ups and diapers periodically, but is showing a lot of interest in the potty each day. So, we're heading in the right direction! The goal is to have her potty-trained by baby #2's arrival, but if it doesn't happen, Mommy and Daddy won't be upset. We are so proud of Gabby's progress so far!

Gabby is also starting to understand that she is going to have a baby sister soon. She will tell us, "Baby Sister coming!" And when we ask where her baby sister is, she points to Mommy's stomach and says, "Mommy's belly" or "Mommy's belly button." It's really cute!

Another exciting development is Gabby's Big Girl Room! In late May, Gabby moved across the hall into her new bedroom and in her full-size bed. Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Tommy and Aunt Danielle painted her room a few weeks ago, and over the last few weeks we have moved her things into her new room and Gabby has been sleeping in it for almost 3 weeks now. It's going really well and Gabby is so proud of herself.

View from the hallway into her new bedroom.

 New dresser and window valence.

Gabriella's new bookshelf and her wooden letters. Mommy and Daddy made the letters especially for Gabby when we were anticipating her birth. They were in her nursery the last two years and now they are in her big girl room! The flower lamp was in Mommy's dorm room her freshman year at KU. Samantha has kept it for nine years with the intention of maybe using it again. Who knew it would match Gabriella's room perfectly?!

Can you tell how excited Gabby is about her big girl bed? She loves it! Every morning when she wakes up and comes to our room she yells with excitement, "I slept in my big girl bed!" It's adorable!