Catching Up...

Paula - 21 months, taken July 25, 2009

I know, I know, why have a blog if we're not going to update it...forgive us please, the only excuse we have is that Paula is a very active toddler...that's right, she's no longer a baby, but is turning into a little girl who is always on the run!

I (Jennie) don't know where she gets her energy from, but I do wish that I could bottle some of it :)

Paula loved the boats at the boardwalk this summer!

Paula's First Taste of Corn on the Cob!


I can't believe that tomorrow Paula will be 23 months old! Only one more month until her 2nd birthday! She loves playing with her toys, going for walks (especially if the walk ends at the playground), shopping (yes, we are in trouble, as she has absorbed her mommy's love for shopping!), looking at books and listening to stories, and watching her favorite shows on TV. Her favorite TV character is Elmo, and it's a word she's started saying whenever she sees him on a product or on TV. She also enjoys The Wonderpets (so do Mommy and Daddy), Wow Wow Wubsy, Blue's Clues, Thomas and her newest favorite show...The Wiggles!

Paula and Nana at the Playground

Paula Enjoying the Playhouse


Mother's Day at Ravello's in East Hanover - what a great day it was! last year we were sad and wondering when she would be coming home, and this year she was giggling at the table with us!


What doesn't Paula enjoy. Let's see, that's easy. She doesn't like diaper changes (we think it should be a new Olympic Sport...diaper changing turns into Paula running all around the bed and trying to escape.) She also dislikes bedtime and fights it all the way, getting dressed or her hair brushed (unless you get her in the first 5 minutes she's awake), coming inside after playing in her pool or with her playhouse and slide, and the sound of the vacuum cleaner.

She was introduced to the swimming pool this summer...both the baby pool in our yard and then a larger one on vacation in Wildwood. She really took to the water and also enjoyed playing in the sand on the beach. I'll post some of those pictures as soon as we download them to our computer.

It's been a while...

Hi everyone,

It's been a while since we posted, so I figured I better update everyone on Paula and post a few photos.

Paula is now 17 months old and is really doing well. She skipped walking and went straight to running. She is talking a little, but babbles a lot (if only we could figure out what she was saying!) Her vocabulary includes: mama, dada, nana, pop-pop, yum, step, dip, no, wow, and go go. She can point to objects when you ask where they are, for example "where is the light?" (she points at the light), "where is the floor" (she points down), "where is mama/dada" (she points at us), "where is your room" (she runs to her room).

I'll post photos soon...for some reason I can't seem to get them to post tonight :( Probably the same reason I can't click on any links.

Until next post...

Paula's Christening - what an angel!

Long time, no see. Sorry we haven't updated this in a while. Tonight we're finally taking the time to upload photos and catch everyone up on what Paula has been up to.

On October 19th, Paula was Baptised at Our Lady of the Valley Church. It had special meaning to me (Jennie) as that was the church where I was baptised as a baby. Paula was very good during the ceremony, except for refusing to wear her hat (and it was adorable the brief moment she had it on!) and also for wanting to eat Father John's book (he thought she wanted to hold it, but we all knew better than that!) Father John really made everyone feel welcome, especially the children. He invited all of the children up to the Baptismal font to get a closer view, and all of the children went to watch (with the adults standing nearby watching also!) When the water was poured on Paula, she didn't cry...she only made a movement to go "plop-plop" in the water...just like she does in the bathtub!

I'm going to post some of the photos from Paula's special day, but have a request. If anyone took any photos, could you please email them to me (or let me borrow the negatives so I can make a set). Thanks :)

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Our Pumpkin Princess

Here are some photos of a recent trip to a farm near my Aunt Marie's house. Mom, Aunt Marie, Paula and myself stopped there to get some beautiful mums a few weeks ago and couldn't resist capturing Paula on film! Paula actually kept her barettes in her hair all day and was intrigued by the different flowers and plants and enjoyed the pumpkins too! In one photo, you'll notice Paula holding a flower in her hand...compliments of Aunt Marie's visit to a nearby mum. She smiled at the flower and then giggled at us! The final "car seat" photo, shows Paula holding some straw in her hand (and mouth!) Paula likes to put things in her mouth, and we guessed correctly that by the end of the day that she would somehow get a piece of straw to "chew on!"

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Meeting the Godparents!

Paula has now met both of her Godparents and loves each of them! She hopes that they stop by to visit her often, as Aunt Kristen likes to cuddle her and Uncle Jim enjoys making her giggle.

Here are two pictures of Paula with her Aunt Kristen. The first one was taken the first week that Paula was home. Aunt Kristen was feeding her lunch in that photo and Paula is wearing her "I Love My Aunt" bib in the photo. For those that don't know, that is Paula's Grandma (Jennie's Mom), holding Paula while Kristen feeds her. The next photo was taken last week, when Kristen came by to visit Paula and her Mommy. Paula is wearing one of the outfits that Aunt Kristen gave her in that photo. Paula loves the outfit and looks adorable in it and Mommy loves the outfit too, because it is easy to change her when she wears it! Paula is so comfortable with Kristen that she fell asleep on her shoulder in the middle of Kristen's visit.





Here's a photo of Paula with her Godfather, Uncle Jim and the Dolly that he gave Paula. She loves her dolly and gave it a hug the minute she received it and she sleeps with her Dolly every night. Paula also was able to see Uncle Jim on Sunday when he came to pick up her Daddy to go to the Jets Game. Mommy didn't have her camera ready that morning, but will get more pictures of Paula and Uncle Jim soon!

Bath Time Changes

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

It's been a little over 2 weeks since we brought our little doll home from Guatemala and we both think she is adjusting very nicely. She has even made improvements on the areas that she wasn't doing well in. Something she disliked until recently was bath time. She really HATED this and would scream bloody murder whenever it was time for her bath. All she had to do was hear the faucet turn on, and she would begin crying hysterically.

As of last week, she's finally happy in the bathtub. It took some time, but I think she finally realizes that she is safe and that she can have fun in the bath. My mom has taught her to splash "Paula, do Plop Plop" and now she really enjoys getting all of us wet! She loves her rubber duckies (yes she has more than 1!), loves it when we sing to her while in the tub, and loves her blue hippo too!

The first 2 photos I've included are taken when we visited Paula back in February, when she was almost 3 1/2 months old. The next two were taken during our Pick Up trip a few weeks ago and then the next few are at my moms house, wearing her ducky towel that Nanny bought for Paula, still not happy that she had to take a bath, and then the rest are of Paula playing in the tub. There are two photos I love...the one where she's "saying" wash my back (her Grandma is doing that) and the other one where she's letting us know it's time to wash her hair!

Well it's late and I better shut the computer off now and get some sleep. I'll try and post more often to our blog, but please forgive me if i don't have a chance to post as often as I did in the past.

I hope you enjoyed the photos!

Welcome Home

Paula's first airplane ride went nicely. She had her apple juice while the plane took off and fell asleep before her bottle was finished. She woke up a while later, smiling, but needing to be changed. We had a grumpy seatmate in the aisle who wouldn't change seats so that we wouldn't have to climb over him so much, so we made sure the next time we needed a bathroom (not even an hour later...we usually never use the bathroom on planes!) we climbed over him again! This time, a couple a row ahead of us, offered to switch so we could have the aisle and middle seat. They felt bad that we had to climb over someone with a baby in our arms.

The rest of the flight went smoothly, and when it was time to land, Paula fell asleep again!

Once we landed, we changed Paula into her coming home outfit, which she is wearing in the photos. We went through customs, and then picked up our luggage and were greeted by both sets of Parents. Paula rode home with her mommy and Grandma and Grandpa (Jennie's side) because they had a car seat, and Paul rode home with the luggage and his parents. Paula didn't know if she liked her car seat, as they did not have them in Guatemala, but by the end of the ride, she was almost sure she liked it.

Mom and Dad had picked up some subs from our local Italian Deli for snacks (and our dinner) when we landed. Boy were they good and it felt great to eat an American meal again! We all enjoyed Paula's first night in her new home!