Antonella- La Calabresella in Brooklyn

Ok, so I'm talking about my independence and *GASP* Dante's! I'll start with mine.....

So, last week was the first time that I went out all alone(and by alone I mean, with both Dante and Adriana, no other adults). it sounds simple enough, but trust me, it's not! I get Dante and Adriana all bundled up and the diaper bag packed. Then I have to get the two carriage seats(they come off of the base of the carriage) and bring them downstairs and outside. Then I bring the base of the carriage down and out. I have to go really quick because while I'm doing this, Adriana's in the play pen and Dante's playing inside. Then, I bring Dante down the stairs and make sure the door is closed so he can't get out(he's still inside the house, I wouldn't leave him outside by himself!). I run back up get Adriana and go back down the stairs. With Adriana in one hand, Dante holding the other we very slowly go down the stairs. If Dante is in the mood, he can do it pretty good. If not, I'm pretty much dragging him down the steps(keep in mind, Dante- 27lbs, Adriana- about 16lbs, the carriage- 40lbs). Then I get them both in the carriage and we can finally start walking.

Ok, so now we get to Dante's independence......We were walking to the park. When we got to the park, I let Dante out. now, usually, I have someone else with me, so one person play with Dante and takes him on and off all the playground stuff while the other is with Adriana. By myself, I have to stay with Adriana and follow Dante, but he has to do all the climbing on his own. So, I let him go and he runs around looking at all the kids, then he gets up the stairs....ALL BY HIMSELF! He was running all over the play bridges and things and he didn't fall off! Then came down the steps completely by himself! I was in shock! My little baby, running around the park like a big boy! I know, it doesn't sound like much, but it's kind of a big deal! UGH, before you know it he'll be off to college

Also, Dante is saying 3 word "sentences." We were reading his zoo book and he was naming all the animals. I was pointing some out to Adriana, and Dante says, "seeseeyou, see micky." In case you're wondering, seeseeyou means sister(how he came up with that I have no idea) and micky is monkey. Then he said, "Danna, see jaff." (Adriana see giraffe). Today, he grabbed my glass off the table so I took it away and said no. He looks at me, so serious, sticks out his hand and says, "gimmie." Like he's ordering me what to do! I almost died!

Adriana's pretty cute herself! She thinks Dante's pretty funny, every time he comes near her she stares and when he laughs, so does she. She's totally a mama's girl. It's really bad, when I'm not there she cries, so you can imagine how it is when I go to school! She occasionally rolls over, but she's not that good at it and she hates being on her stomach, so as soon as she gets on her stomach she starts screaming.

Gotta go Adriana's waking up!

SO, as you can imagine, I've been really busy with school and the babies lately! I had 2 papers due last week(which I got 100 on) I have a test this week, an oral presentation next week and a test after that! And of course, on top of all that I have my 2 beautiful babies to take care of!

Dante is growing so fast I can't believe it! He can name all the major body parts(although he always gets confused between ear and eye!) he's eating with a fork and getting better with a spoon(he ate a thing of apple sauce all by himself!). He is such a good big brother!! He loves making Adriana smile and he loves to give her kisses!!! Adriana loves him right back! She stares at whatever he's doing and laughs at him when he's being silly. She is also doing great. She is HUGE! No one believes me when I tell them how old she is....she is a lot bigger than Dante was at this age.

Also, I've been driving! I drove to WIC 2 days this week with my sister. I'm still terrible at parking though. I haven't been practicing much because it's hard obviously with the babies, but I'm getting better. ok, I better post some pics before Dante and Adriana wake up!

School I'm talking about! I just started yesterday Boy am I going to be busy! Only 2 classes and there are so many tests, papers, group projects, UGH! I can't wait until I'm done with school forever! I'm going to try and stay on top of things, but I am a procrastinator and I do have 2 under 2, so I'm guessing I'm going to be doing a lot of things last minute!

ANYWAY, Adriana is doing really good BUT she has an eye infection, so that's been really annoying. If it doesn't go away by Friday we're going to have to take her to the eye doctor, I'm not looking forward to that. I really hope it goes away because I hate seeing her eyes all filled with crap, I feel so bad for her. Other than that she's doing really well. She's getting HUGE, she's sleeping almost 6 hours a night and she's a pretty happy baby.

Dante is also doing really well. I'm amazed at how quickly he just started saying so many words. He went from saying nothing to being ahead of the norm. It seems like everyday he says something new. It's sooooooo cute! I know maybe in a few months I'll be wanting him to be quiet, but for now I think it's adorable and I'm looking forward to him talking more!

Well, I'm off now, maybe I'll clean, maybe I won't, or maybe I'll take a nap!

So, as you can imagine, things have been pretty hectic around here! Adriana is growing like crazy and eating just about every 2 hours, so that's exhausting....especially having Dante running around and wanting to play while I'm breastfeeding. Aside from that, things are going really well. Adriana's finally getting the hang of latching on. On Thursday she was up to 9lbs 9oz and she is now 21.25in long! I think she'll be taller than Dante in no time!

Dante is doing really good also! He tries to be really gentle with her, he even tries to feed her(not such a good thing, but you have to admit it's pretty cute!) He also tries to pick her up when she's crying....again not so safe, but pretty cute!

I'm spending most of the day trying to get into some kind of routine(as much as you can with a newborn). I start school in less than 2 weeks and I'm not looking forward to it! I really thought that Adriana would be a lot earlier and I'd have at least 2 more weeks...but what can you do? Anyway, I'm lucky she's a pretty easy going baby so far....not as easy as Dante(he just slept all the time) but she doesn't cry all the time, so that's good!

Let me see if I can post some more pics(I'll add one of me 2 weeks before I had Adriana, just for fun!).......

Adriana was born on July 25th!! I have to make this quick, so here it goes!

I went into labor about 2pm on Friday. I was doing really well with the contractions. A week before at the doc I was 3cm dialated, so I was expecting that with the contractions I'd be pretty far along. Anyway, so the doc checked and I was only 4cm!!! I was thinking it was going to be a LOOONG labor. I was wrong! Soon after the contractions started getting pretty intense. I asked the doc for an epidural and he checked me first, I was already 8cm!! So, it was pretty pointless to get an epidural because by the time it would take effect, the baby would be falling out! So, as soon as he finished checking me I started feeling the urge to push! Not too long after, at 4:55pm, I pushed out Adriana.

Now for the crazy part, she was 9lbs and 20.25 in long! 9lbs and I'm 5'2" and normally weigh about 115lbs! I gotta go now, I'll post some pics later!

I tried to make an album but for some reason it's not letting me, so here are some pics!

Well, Adriana must really like it in there! I was hoping she's come a little early, but she is determined to stay put! I guess my uterus is just really nice and comfy!

I'm feeling ok, the heat isn't easy to deal with. It's so hot and humid here I try to not do much. I end up sitting around like a beached whale most of the day. I have such a hard time getting up from sitting on the floor, Dante started copying not only the way I get up, but all the noises I make when trying to get up! It's actually really cute. He started copying the way I call Mag......he SCREAMS, "MAAAAAAAG!!!!" at the top of his lungs. Poor Mag, has me nagging him and Dante screaming his name all the time!

Oh and I almost forgot, I passed my road test! It's about time, I'm only 25 years old! Well, I think I surprised everyone, most of the people taking the test were teenagers, then I come out, looking like I'm about to burst at the seems! But I passed and that's all that matters. At least it'll be easier driving to and from the doctors now....especially with 2 they have to go so often and it's not so close. It was hard enough taking just Dante on the train!

So, that's about all here. Please send me some labor vibes or something, it' supposed to be really hot and I don't think I can take much more!

Well, I'm getting closer. I'm 35 weeks today, that means in 2 more weeks I'll be considered full term! Honestly I can't picture being pregnant much longer! I feel so huge and I can barely move. I didn't feel like this when I was preg with Dante!

Anyway, so I've been busy preparing, trying to get stuff done. Would you believe I finally have a road test scheduled for July 8th?!?!?! I'm 25 years old, it's about time! Well, if I go into labor on that day I will take it as a sign that I am not meant to drive! So, I've been taking driving lessons and practicing with Magbert. It's kinda hard because of the size of my belly, it makes certain things uncomfortable, but what can I do? It would be  a whole lot easier if I can drive with 2 babies instead of waiting for Mag to be home from work. With just Dante I could manage, but with 2....well, that makes things a lot more difficult.

Poor Dante is sick of staying inside with me all the time. I can't really chase after him if we go outside! He's too fast and I'm scared he'll run into the street! Poor kid has cabin fever I think! If he wakes up early enough, Magbert takes him out and they run around and play. That's one thing I am definitely looking forward to doing after I have the baby, just running around with Dante. Well, it won't be much longer now!

SOOO, for the past few weeks we've been using cloth diapers on Dante. Honestly the reason we started was mostly for the money, you save a lot of money using cloth diapers!! The whole saving the environment is an added bonus. Anyway, so it takes a while to get used to, and it's not always easy(especially when it comes to poopy diapers! But it's not that bad at all. And, the cloth diapers they have now aren't like the "old school" ones. They're actually kinda cute. That's probably our biggest "green" thing we do. We do some other things, but again, it's stuff that we always do to save money that just also happens to be good for the environment.

In baby news, Dante started all of a sudden saying more words and doing more signs. It just kinda happened out of nowhere, but it's really cute! He says Daddy, sherooooo(cereal), bay-beee(baby) and train is na na na(he can only say the last part for some reason). ANd he is signing more, eat, bath and drink! Anyway, so I'm pretty excited about that!

Yesterday I went for a growth scan and Adriana is already 4lbs 15oz! She already looks like Dante too! We got some pretty good sonogram pics, I'll try to post them later.  ANyway, so that's about it....I better hurry now before Dante wakes up from his nap. He only takes one now so that's the only time I have to myself!

Some people just spew things out of their mouth, like they were never taught to think before they speak.

I was at the park the other day, sitting with Dante and Dante started "flirting" with this woman sitting next to me. So, she started asking how old he is and all the usual questions. Then she asked me what I'm having. I said a girl and she said the usual, "Oh that's perfect" (like if I were having another boy that would be terrible)....then she goes on to say, "oh, now when you have the girl you can tie your tubes." Ummmm, excuse me???? What kind of stupid comment is that??? Since when is it ok to tell a perfect stranger when they should tie their tubes??? I don't know, maybe my pregnancy is making me overly sensitive, but I just think that was totally inappropriate.

On the same day though at the park, this Russian old lady came up to me and could barely speak English. She starts talking and struggling the whole times she says, "Your baby is nice. You are nice. I like you. I would like to wish you good baby." It was the cutest thing in the whole world....I just wish you could've heard it because I can't make it sound like she said it. It was so sweet that she actually went out of her way to say something nice!!

Things have just been so crazy around here! I can't believe how long I've been gone! Let me give a quick update before Dante wakes up. Magbert's job situation in slowly improving. Not because they're giving him more money or anything, just because he's working extra hours and taking extra jobs and stuff like that. Hopefully he'll get enough experience here and then can find a better place. But at least now we can pay the rent!

Dante is doing really good. He says a few things, but still not much. We signed him up for Gymboree, in the hopes that being around more people would do him some good. I think it's adorable and he seems to like it....although he just kinda does whatever he wants. The younger half of the class just kinda does their own thing while the others actually listen. But, it doesn't matter, he's at least getting some kind of interaction with other kids and people than just me and family.

I am about 31 weeks pregnant now. All the fun pregnancy stuff is happening. The baby is up high and pressing on my heart causing tachycardia and irregular heart beat which is lots of fun *sigh* It make me nervous so I stopped my swimming class, I know it's nothing life-threatening but I'm scared something will happen while I'm in the water and I don't wanna take any chances. My back and hips are KILLING me! Despite that I'm trying to work-out very lightly. We'll see how that goes. When Dante is napping I'll try to do some weights, hopefully I can bend down to pick them up!

Tomorrow is my final. I'm not really prepared, but I've done well enough on my other tests that I'm not really worried. Honestly at this point I don't care. We'll just have to see what happens!