More Video of our Mia! Sorry I didn't do this sooner.

I was trying my best to make Mia laugh. This was about 2 weeks ago or less. Hope you enjoy it! I'll definitely send more now that I see how easy it is to post video on here!

Talk to you soon!

Mia is 5 Months today! WOW!

Mia is 5 months! I am so happy:) She is changing so much everyday. I am noticing how she is more coordinated in general. Those little hands are really trying to grab things now. She is really starting to study the different activities on her exersaucer and understand how they work. Her little hands roll this plastic funnel thingy with beads in it that make noise. It is so cute to watch her learn what to do. She is just so much more focused on the task at hand and really pays attention when you talk to her. I am making sure I speak slowly and repeat things now so that she can learn easier. She is also making new sounds as of about a week now. She squeals in delight and holds it for a long time. It's hard to explain, but it so so darn cute! It sort of goes like this...eeehhhahhhhhhohhhhh....lol. Well, not quite, but you get the point. She also makes this hysterical gasping sound all the time. It is usually when she is quite content and smiling, then comes the serious sucking in sound as her eyes squint as she does it. It seems like it would be annoying to do, but she seems to like making this sound. She is so funny when she does this, because she makes quite the face! She had her cousin Olivia and I cracking up the other day when she was doing this. She is also stronger in general. Changing her diaper is more difficult as she kicks and squirms out of my grasp a lot easier. I noticed this just about a week ago. I also started putting her in the bathtub, not alone, still in her little tub, but in the tub. At least when she kicks those legs like mad, I don't get as much of a bath myself anymore. I just started giving her a bath this way the last 2 times.

Oh, yes, Mia is destined to have curls. The little hair she does have is falling out a little in the back, and if I am seeing correctly, it appears that the new hair coming in is not straight! lol. BIG SURPRISE. I cannot wait to see her with a head full of curls. It's bound to happen, just a matter of time!!

We are leaving for Cape Cod tomorrow. I have been packing for the past 2-3 hours and I am still not finished. Giacomo and I packed most of our things, I just have to finish packing for Mia in the morning. We are leaving about 10ish, so I will have a busy morning. I am very happy to be getting away. We'll see how Mia does in the car. It's about a 6 hour drive. I know we'll have a great week. I am looking forward to not worrying about cleaning, laundry, yada yada. I have my mom to help and then I'm grabbing a good book and reading away! So, I'll let you all know how the trip went as soon as I get back. :):)

Here are some pics from the past week including today, Mia's 5 month birthday. She was more interested in ruining my sign that I had her hold than staying nice and still. I guess those days are over! You can see in the pics I have posted.

We are so in love with her and she is sure getting better and better everyday...never thought it could, but it does! Happy 5 months of life peanut! We love you!

One more thing, I posted a quick video of Mia on here. I believe it's at the bottom. I didn't know I could do this. If it comes out ok, I will continue to post more. There is nothing like video. I wish I posted more video before, as I always take video and still pics of her. So, hope it comes out ok. If it does, I'll keep 'em coming!

Talk to you when we get back on June 6! Ciao!

The Bellomos :):)

Some little updates :)

So, not too much new, just that Mia is getting cuter and cuter! ha ha :) Just thought I would share that my mother in law bought number 3 diapers and put Mia in one today and it fit! I will finish the last of my number 2's and start with the number 3's! They start I believe at 16 pounds, so I am assuming Mia is over 16 pounds now. She doesn't have a 5 month checkup this month. Her five month birthday is next week, I cannot believe it!! I am going to weigh her myself and measure her length. I am curious and need to keep up with my baby books!

Also, I am going to introduce Mia to a new fruit most likely tomorrow, May 25th. I didn't change the bananas after 5 days. I do not want to rush Mia with new foods. I want her stomach and gut to adjust well to each new thing and just think waiting a bit longer before we introduce something new cannot hurt. So, she's been on bananas I guess for over a week now. I think I am going to start peaches tomorrow. I'll keep you posted on how it goes! She has been loving the bananas.

As far as what she is doing these days, let's see.....she is just so much more interactive and observant. She seems to cry if there are strangers who talk to her or just get very close to her. This has been happening for a few weeks I guess, but now it is obvious that she is starting to know her mommy and daddy and is a bit unsure of new faces. So amazing. If there are too many people who she does not recognize, she sort of stares at them expressionless, and we know that the pouty face will follow. Then, the pouty lip comes and then the crying. It's actually so cute. I just reassure her that I am there and this seems to help, sometimes. :):)

She LOVES her rainforest bouncy/exersaucer. She is really getting the hang of it and kicks of simultaneously with both feet and shoots straight up. It's so cute! She loves it. If I dance in front of her, she goes nuts and kicks and dances with me!

I worked today. The first weekend day I have worked since Mia is born. I have only worked weekdays since I started on April 7th. Giacomo had some good bonding time with his girl. They went to Sports Authority, Espositos Deli, the car wash where Mia watched all the machines and water, and then they visited Giacomo's friends house. They have a 1.5 year old little girl, soon to be a playmate for Mia. So overall, I think this was a good day for daddy and his peanut. I got home about 2ish and had most of the day to see them. I can now enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend relaxing, etc.

Anyway, that is about it for now. Mia is getting too damn big. I guess I would be happy if she stayed just the way she is now. She is so cute. Guess it doesn't work that way, does it? She is just such a pleasure day and night. We are eating her up and enjoying every minute. I should mention she is still doing well with the sleeping. She goes in about 8-9 and wakes about 4-5 for a bottle and then right back to sleep until 8ish. This is the basic routine she follows pretty much every night. There are exceptions, but this seems to be the norm. We are happy about this and that she is doing just what she should be for her age. We are hoping by 6 months she goes in about 7-8 and gets up around 6-7. This would be ideal, but heck, I'm NOT complaining. I remember the early days and this is heaven.

I posted some pics of her the past week. Hope you enjoy them.

Talk to you all soon.

The Bellomos :):)

Finally Sleeping Better! HOPE it lasts!!!

Ok, so it's been about a week since I posted a note. I have big news, at least Giacomo and I think it's big news! On May 13th, this past Tuesday, Mia slept from roughly 730pm to about 530am! She then had a bottle and slept more until about 830! On Wednesday night she did about the same. Thursday night she woke a couple of times and Friday night and Saturday night she did the same! She has been sleeping anywhere from 8-10 hours and then gets up for a bottle and sleeps a couple hours more. IT'S AMAZING! YEAH FOR SLEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!! When she is sleeping, she cries out every now and then, but doesn't awake and continues to sleep. I am not sure if she is having bad dreams, :( or if her gums give her discomfort. It doesn't seem to wake her, but there is definitely something going on. I feel so bad that she seems to have pain at night. I give her Tylenol about every other night. I don't want to just give it for no reason, but these cries in her sleep are pretty consistent during the night so I think it's not a bad idea and it does seem to help her. Also, she does very well in her crib now No more using the car seat! We have not done this for a while it seems. I didn't write exactly when we stopped doing this. I guess about 3-4 weeks ago. She was just getting too big and not able to stretch. It worked well when we needed it to, but that stage is done. I am just happy it was not a difficult transition getting her to go to sleep in her crib. I should mention that have put a blanket under the fitted sheet in her crib to serve as a "pillow". I know this sounds crazy, but we noticed that Mia likes to be elevated a bit. We figured this was a safe way to do it. I wanted to mention to how Mia never sleeps directly on her back. She will always turn to the side to sleep. When she is tired, she rubs her head on her side and we know she is ready to sleep. She'll do this to soothe herself and eventually can fall asleep with her head to the side. It is very cute. She does this all the time. :):) We don't use anything else except the crib at night. Well, we do use our bed, but ONLY when she wakes up around 530a-6am. We bring her in, give her a bottle and she sleeps those last couple of hours with us. I am usually so tired that this seems to work. I also think it's a nice balance. She is accustomed to her crib, but then we get to cuddle with her for a little bit as well in the early morning. She is enjoying her bananas which we started last Wednesday. I only have to keep her on them for 5 days to observe for any allergies and then can introduce a new fruit. I may keep her on them longer. Figure it cannot hurt and my pediatrician said don't be in a rush to start new foods. So I think I'll wait and play it by ear. She LOVES the bananas. I mix it with the rice cereal. They didn't specify if I am to continue the rice cereal now that she has started fruits, but I just figure it's good for her to continue so her stools do not get too watery, etc. She definitely can eat!!

Anyway, I guess that's it for now. We leave for Cape Cod Mass. in about 2 weeks. I am very happy to get away and happy to have our first real vacation with our peanut. It will be such amazing family time and I am really looking forward to it. I do not have a pediatrician appt. until the end of June for Mia's 6 month check up. They skip 5 months thank god! I am so happy she has a break from all those damn shots! I felt like I was there every week, so this is good as well.

Anyway, just wanted to share our joy and happiness for good old sleep! Let's hope the little peanut keeps it up! I do believe giving her solids helped her sleep better. Thank goodness for real food!

Talk to you all very soon! In the meantime, I'm going to put my little angel to bed. She is sleeping in daddy's arms as I write this!

Ciao!

The Bellomos :):)

Mia is Blessed :):)

Hello Everyone!

Well, we had a very, very nice weekend. Mia was baptized this past Saturday. It went so well. My parents, Giacomo's parents and sister, Giacomo's brother and his wife, his 2 girls, my brother, his boyfriend and Giacomo's uncle were all there to help up celebrate our beautiful angel :):)

The reverend John Graf performed the ceremony at our home. He married Giacomo and I in 2006. It was so great to see him and have him bless our daughter. Everyone came about 1-2pm and John arrived about 2. We started the ceremony about 320pm. My brother Michael and Giacomo's brother Eliseo are the godparents. They lit candles and my brother Michael read a poem about parenthood which I chose at the end. John blessed Mia with holy water and spoke of the beauty of family and the importance of love towards our children. The dress looked adorable on our Mia. It was special as well because it was worn by my mother and me. Afterwards, we were told by everyone that the intamacy of the party made it so special. We all had the time to talk to eachother and enjoy eachother's company. The people most special to Mia were there. That was most important to Giacomo and I. Mia received some very special gifts. A heart pendant necklace from Grammy and Grandpa Sangiovanni, a 14k white gold braclet with her name engraved on it from Nona and Nono Bellomo. We ate and had delicious cake with the words God Bless Mia Noelle written on the top. It was just a really great day filled with love and family! Who could ask for more??!!

Mother's Day was uneventlful, but very special as well. We basically relaxed the entire day. Giacomo and Mia went for a walk into town while I finished planting my flowers on our deck! It was relaxing! We were a bit tired from the planning and clean up from the day before. Mia bought me tickets to go see the Mets this coming Thursday! Unfortunatly Mia isn't going! ha ha. Just daddy and mommy. Hopefully next year we'll plan something as a family. I am very happy to be going to see the Mets.

Mia is doing great. She loves her cereal and has really learned how to eat with a spoon so well. The mouth always opens waiting for the next spoonful! We are going to start her on fruits the next few days! She holds and reaches for objects much more. She rolls over when she wants to, not too often. I guess she'll just be doing this more and more. When she is on her stomach, she pushes of the ground with her hands and lifts her head and shoulders off the ground. She also gets into position it seems to crawl! She looks like she wants to go, go, go! Uh oh....no more stationary Mia soon!! She is STILL not sleeping 6 hours in a row all the time. Mostly 4 hours. UGHHH. I'm learning that sleep is overrated! ha ha. She is just getting bigger and bigger. She loves her bouncer/exersaucer that we bought her not too long ago. It's so awesome to see her change and be able to use this. I love it because it is suspended so she can bounce when she pushes off the floor. I like this one better than the stationary exersaucers. The seat also goes around, so it's like you get 2 features instead of one. She tries to play with the activities in it. It is so cute. There is this thing that rolls and just watching her starting to understand what to do is so AMAZING. She can spin it with her hands and when she gets results, she tries to do it again. I love it!

We are also going to Cape Cod, MA the end of the month for a week! I have been there a bunch of times and love it. We are going with my parents. My parents have a time share and get a week a year anywhere, so this is where we are going! Should be a lot of fun. I am looking SO forward to going and getting away. It will be Mia's first bigger trip. I know it will be a great week and Giacomo and I have a built in babysitter (grammy!) the time we're there, so if we just want to go do our own thing, dinner, shopping, etc., I am sure we will not get any complaints!

Anyway, that is all for now. I am posting pics from this past weekend and the week before. The baptism and mother's day are included.

Talk to you all very soon.

Love, The Bellomos

One more thing...

We are blessing Mia this coming Saturday on May 10th. I am so excited. We are keeping the ceremony very small and intimate, what Giacomo and I both wanted. Our immediate family is coming to our home to help welcome our little Mia and bless her. The man who married Giacomo and I will be performing the ceremony. She will be wearing a gown that I wore and my mother also wore when we were blessed :) I am so excited to see her in it. I found the most beautiful shoes for her as well yesterday. They are satin with a bow on the strap. Very simple and classic :) My brother and Giacomo's brother will be the godparents. Yes, there are no godmothers. We are doing it 2008 style. ha ha. They were so honored and happy to rise to the occasion. Giacomo did not have religious instruction growing up and his family did not support the Catholic Church. I also disagree with some of the church's views and we therefore felt we wanted this to be a blessing with no strong ties to any organized religion. It is recognized in the catholic church as a baptism however, so if Mia decides she wants to continue her religious education as a roman catholic, etc., she can still do so. I am looking very forward to it. I think it will be a very special day for all of us. There is this poem that I have chosen which I believe is so true to what being a parent is all about. My brother will be reading it during the blessing. It is as follows:

Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of life's longing for itself. They come through you, but, not from you; and though they are with you, they belong not to you.
You may give them your love, but, not your thoughts. For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but, seek not to make them like you;for life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,and he bends you with his might that his arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;for even as he loves the arrow that flies,so he loves also the bow that is stable.

So, that is that. I am going to enjoy a nice cup of morning tea...Oh! one more IMPORTANT THING! Mia slept 8 hours straight last night from 93r0p to 530a and just woke to eat and went straight to sleep again and is waking up now! It's 830! So she slept for 11 hours! We are so pround..hopefully this is the trend. We fed her a lot of cereal last night and I gave her Tyelenol because her gums seem to be bothering her. Yes, we are pretty sure she is teething. The hands are always in the mouth chewing them and there is non-stop drool!!

Gotta run...I actually hear her now! You go Mia!

Talk to you all soon...I'll be sure to post a bunch of pics from the blessing this coming Saturday!! Ciao!

Mia is 4 Months and a Week!

Hello everyone-

Mia is doing great. "Talking" up a storm, sighing in delight, squeaking and squealing and still singing along. She has made a big milestone...ONE THAT I MISSED :(:( She apparently has rolled over from her stomach to her back on May 2. My mother in law was watching her at the time and said she was on her playmat when she did this. I have been waiting to see her do it myself, but instead she turns to her side and can't quite make it all the way over. So, hopefully I will get to witness this firsthand very soon. I'm waiting and watching. So, it figures that the first big thing she does I miss! ha ha

Another big change is that she now reaches out for objects in front of her to hold. She never did this as deliberate as she is doing now. I would have to touch her hand with the object for her to know she had the tools to hold it. It is just today I noticed her actually reaching for it!!!! It is SO COMPLETELY AMAZING to see these changes right before our eyes. Our little one is really getting big. :(:(

Oh, how can I forget. Mia had her 4 month pediatrician appt. last Wednesday. Her current stats are as follows:

Weight: 15 pounds (95th %ile)

Height: 25.25 inches (90th %ile)

Yes, it's amazing...her mother is all of 4-11.5 inches short and Mia comes up above the 90th %ile in both height and weight. I never thought there would ever be a time in her life when this would be the case! ha ha. The pediatrician explained that they can actually determine height to some degree when she is 2 years old. They follow patterns and can have a general idea of how tall she may be. She did ask me if there were tall people in our family. Giacomo's mother and grandfather are and were tall and she said Mia could very well have some of these taller genes. So, we'll see! I guess it can be that Mia will be looking down at her mother at the age of 8!!

I have been working 1-2 days a week which I am acutually enjoying. It is good to get out of the house and see all my old coworkers and get back into the swing of things. 1-2 days seems like just the right amount. I do miss Mia a lot on these days, but it makes it all the more better to see her when I come home. I just think it's good all around for the both of us.

Oh, we have officially started solids as well on April 30th. We actually cheated and started a couple days before this and before we had the Dr's "approval". So we'll consider the official day the 30th! She did very well considering it was her first time. She gagged at the first spoonful, but then down the hatch it went like a true champ. My girl loves to eat! The rolls tell all! :):) So it's been about a week that we have her on rice cereal 2x/day. I give it to her in the morning and in the evening. In about 2 weeks, I will start fruit and then vegetables. I must only introduce one food at a time and not anything else for 5 days. This is to see if she has any allergies and to also make it easy to identify the culprit if she did. So I am sure Mia will devour the fruits when we start these. I am enjoying all these changes. It was surreal to actually take out a spoon. It hit me that she really is getting bigger.

About the nights, she is still not sleeping through the night. As she has always been doing, she goes to bed about 9 and then gets up for a feed about 3. The Dr. said this is age appropriate and that 4 month infants should only be sleeping about 6 hours in a row, which she does some of the time. LOL I'm not concerened at all. She did say that at about 6 months they should sleep 10-12 hours. So this should be GREAT!! I am looking veyr forward to this. She said for us to try to get her to go to sleep earlier as the next 2 months approach because ultimately, by six months, the ideal sleep pattern is: to bed at 7p and sleep until 7a. This way Giacomo and I can get some alone and quiet time and STILL get a full nights sleep. Seems too good to be true!

We bought a bouncer/exersaucer for Mia 2 days ago. We put her in it yesterday for the first time and she loved it. She can bounce and be upright. I also realized how much she is changing now that she can be in one of these. She looks and holds everything in it. It's so cute.

She just notices everyone and everything. She follows you everywhere you go in the room and fusses if she is left alone for a few minutes. She loves to socialize...guess she is just like her mother. :):)

She cracks up at the silliest things and it so great to hear her laugh. This is the part I adore so much.

She can sit up with very little support now. She stares at her feet all the time.

I guess this is about it. I have posted a lot of pictures with this entry. I have been quite behind! They include when we went to NYC for the first time in central park, going to Rutgers ag field day, and some other events, but most of all, they include Mia being her cute little self and our daily dose of love and fun.

Hope you enjoy them and looking forward to sending you more updates on our little pumpkin!

Love,

The Bellomos :):)