the adventures of dragon boy and the pet chicken

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

my little monsters had so much fun tonight. check out all of our photos.

first we stopped by to see one of our babysitters and show off our costumes. then we ran into our friends the norcross and dillow families while walking around the neighborhood pre-trick or treating and spent the next hour and a half with them. luca had so much running from house to house with his friends. instead of saying trick or treat when he reached the door, he announced in a dramtic voice "dragon" to announce his presence. gia was content in the wagon for the first hour looking through her four or five treats (and really people do we need to get candy for her when you know who will end up eating it?). when we got back to our street, she visited each house with her brother saying a sweet "twick o tweet" and "ank oo." our neighbors were thoroughly charmed. miss trish from next door even gave bought gia a stuffed pumpkin doll for her basket.

my dad stayed back to hand out candy, so i can't be sure of how many kiddos we had stop by, but i do know we have too much candy left. we always overbuy. i hate the idea of running out.

hope you all had a great night!

a night of goopy hands and a coveted scooper

last night we finally carved our pumpkins. we had been hiding them inside from the crazy bold and ravenous squirrels. (do you remember our experience last year? the critters in our new neighborhood seem even more ambitious.) everyone had a job - luca and jesse pulled out the guts, i carved the designs, and gia spent the hour and a half hogging the scooper. the little orange guy worked amazingly, so everyone wanted to use it, but gia "needed" it to pull out seeds one by one.

every year i say we are going to carve simple faces. i like to avoid frustration and disappointment, and frankly, my hands get tired from the carving. but luca really wanted this certain monster design and i got suckered into it. there were a few muttered words under my breath, but everytime luca would say, "oh i see the head/tail/eyes. i love this monster mama." i would be reenergized to keep going." the smaller pumpkins were inspired by gia's "o" face. very close resemblance.

we decided to protect our pumpkins during the day by putting them in our screened porch out back. well, the squirrels just climbed in through the rafters and got in a few nibbles. the tip of the monster tail was one casualty.

we got some great videos, but ever since the computer was fixed, i have been having some issues with my player - so i will add them later hopefully.

game day

so i get a call last friday from jesse asking if i want to go to the illinois homecoming football game the next day. he had just been handed four tickets from his boss. of course, i jumped at the chance since tickets are both pricey and hard to find. and these weren't just any tickets. no these were season tickets from the owner of his company. we are talking good seats. the above pic is the view from our seats with no zoom.

so at about 10am on saturday we leave the house to walk over to the stadium. google maps puts it at less than a mile, but that is a long way for a little guy like luca and for jesse to carry gia (he swears his left forearm was bigger by the end of the day). so by the time we arrived to the tailgating section, we didn't have the energy to walk around. we just headed straight for our seats to give the kiddos a break.

the problem here is that it was super sunny and the temps were already in the mid 70s and climbing. so it was not much of a break to sit, unless you count the fact that we got super cool padded seats on our bleachers that came with the tickets. score!

we had a great time regardless of the 80 something degree temps by late afternoon and getting red from the sun on our right arms. i think luca has enjoyed the memory of it more than the actual event. he is super sensitive to sound and had a hard time with the noise. gia liked the ice cream :) and being held by her papa for basically 5 hours straight.

so that was the kids first illini experience. i have many fond memories of block i as a student. i kept wanting to get up and do all the cheers and dances with the students, but was stuck in the "adult" section and trying to keep two babes occupied. just wish they would have won the game. . .but at least it was exciting until the end.

heading out to the game

yay! we are here!

i am missing my nap people. . .ohh she has on cool jeans

hot, sweaty, ready for ice cream

the sea of orange that is block i

juice (for my dad)

gia about to sleep on papi two blocks from home

i-l-l. . .i-n-i

full details tomorrow. serious exhaustion from the intense sun and heat. we had a blast regardless.

series in chalk

"ladder"

"spider"

"helicopter"

"whale"

"ocean"

our budding artist entered the world of chalk a short time ago. we painted a chalkboard on the wall in the play area and it is now a new home for creative juices to flow. the above series is luca's favorite type of art - keep drawing new pictures on top of the old ones, making use of the previous design. he is pretty awesome.

oh and let's not forget. . .

gia eating the chalk :)

girl of a thousand faces

miss giavanna is pretty hilarious. she makes the most dramatic and expressive faces to let us know how she is feeling, what she is thinking, or just to make us laugh. so for those of you have not been around her in the last few months, this one is the "i just put something in my mouth that did not taste and/or feel good, but i just might try it again." here, the pumpkin stem.

we're pregnant!!!

we're pregnant. that just seems like such a shock to me still. not that i am having a third child, but that i was able to get pregnant so easily for a second time. honestly, i almost have blocked out how difficult those years before luca's pregnancy were and the incredible toll it took on me emotionally and spiritually. both jesse and i had to undergo surgeries (three between us), i had monthly injections of horrible stuff to trick my body into healing, and at the end of two plus years we used fertility drugs before getting pregnant. second time around was such a blessing (and so unexpected - over the phone, a nurse called to cancel a surgery because, "are you sitting down, annalea? your pre-op blood work showed you are pregnant." what?) but i had such mixed emotions about trying to get pregnant again. would it be a similar to either of those experiences? or would it be something completely new and unknown?

well, this feels like april 2006 all over again. after only one month of trying, we were surprised and excited to see the positive test. i actually took the test on a fluke. i wasn't late and shouldn't have been able to get an accurate reading, but i had an expiring test and was being moody and impulsive. imagine my surprise!! i am 6 weeks along and due june 3rd.

luca is so excited. he talks to the baby all day long. (he put his mouth up to my belly and speaks softly, narrating our day - adorable!) he has also named the baby "harehok." he is utterly serious about this. he tells me regularly that he loves the name and that it sounds really good. he likes looking at the pictures of what babies look like in utero (he labeled one of these photos as "so cute and tiny") and often asks me, "how big is the baby today? like a bean?" gia likes to imitate her brother and kiss my belly. mostly she just says "baby belly" and then runs off to do her own thing.

i already had two appointments so far. my first was a "pre-natal class" that the local hospital/clinic requires. really it means, do paperwork and get a preview of their practice with other expecting moms. i appreciated this time since i am at a new facility and have a new doctor. i have to say i am not thrilled about my new ob/gyn. nothing particular, it is just that i loved my old doctor.

one of the helpful aspects of the "class" was asking the nurse a ton of questions about the midwives rotation that the practice offers. i have considering using a midwife for any future pregnancies, especially knowing i was leaving my old doctor. since both of my labors were so long and intense, the resulting deliveries were fairly difficult. nothing long-term serious nor was surgery needed, but just enough complications that i was interested in trying something different. so i will be seeing the midwives for my appointments (they have 7 on rotation and i will see all during my pregnancy. then i will be assigned one when i go into labor.) the biggest difference is that they will be present throughout my entire labor, rather than coming and going like the doctors. i am hoping this will help ease my way into delivery and that she (or he) will be able to foresee any potential problems. i will still deliver at the hospital.

my second appointment was with a nurse practitioner (it was scheduled before the midwives decision) and was a quick check-up. i think i was spoiled back in normal. i had a ton of sonograms and lots of time with the doctor. here i think i will only get one sonogram at the halfway point. (at which point we will be hoping to find out boy or girl.) jesse had to go on a last minute business trip so i was the mom all by myself with two young kids in the waiting room doing an awesome job keeping them occupied. the three of us celebrated by going to a fave eatery in c-u (empty at 10:30am), buying a few croissants, and watching the rain through the windows.

overall, i feel great. a bit of food and smell aversion (had to leave the grocery store while shopping and sometimes can't open the fridge), but my energy level is up. this is pretty much expected. my fibro begins to ease up as my hormone levels change. hard to explain. i feel pregnant (fatigue, backaches, etc.) but it is so different than usual that i just love being pregnant. amen for that!