Friday... Dominic comes home!!!

I took Will to work, and then took Lisa to the hospital. Today was the day that we have all been waiting for. Lisa had to spend all day at the hospital with the baby before they were sure they could release him, he had to get circumcised and be seen by the doctor one last time and then he would be able to get the heck out of there. Mom and I hung out all day with Guido and then we got the call to go and pick Lisa and the baby up. (We have pictures but I just realized they weren't with my camera, but as soon as I get a hold of them I will put them up.) We got him back to my house and I got him out of the carseat and just loved him up! Will was soooo excited to get to hold him, he was waiting all week for him. Mom, Will and I passed him around about a hundred times, we fed him and gave him lots of kisses. He is perfect! What a wonderful gift from God to Lisa and Dan and Guido, they have been really blessed!

Guido not too sure what to think...





That night I wanted to take mom somewhere to eat some authentic Mexican food and get a nice big Margarita, so Will, mom and I went to "Andale's" and our good friend Jimmy met us there. Great food and it was packed, they had a mariachi band playing and mom was loving it. We left there and went to one more place and mom and Will each had a drink or two and we were just so beat from the long day that we headed home even though Will had off the next day for the first time in about 15 days he wasn't used to staying up so late, and Rocco was coming the next day so we had to get rested up for his visit.
Before...
After...

Thursday

Lisa found out that they were going to let the baby go on Friday so we wanted to run and find a carseat so that we could have it ready to bring home the baby. We went to Target first because I had gotten a magazine from there the day before and I was a carseat/stroller combo that I absolutely had to have. It has baby farm animals on it, and that is what I decided to do the babies nursery as. So while we were at Target I decided since my mom was down here that I would start a registry so that way she could help me pick stuff that I was going to need, and that way she could feel like she is part of the pregnancy being so far away. We had a great time scanning stuff and discussing things I would need and things I would probably never use. Here is the stroller and carseat, that I absolutely love!!


My sister made me this blanket for the baby and it is what helped me to make up my mind and go with the farm/cowboy theme that I have been thinking about... Thanks Rachel!!! I love it!!

Lisa ended up buying the stroller combo for Will and I as a baby gift. That was too nice of her!! After we were done there we came back to the house to unload it and then we were off the get some souvenirs. I took them to the "Texas Store" which is a perfect place because they have just about everything. Both Lisa and Mom got lots of stuff for the kids back in PA. I bought mom a super cute apron with the state of Texas on it and it had El Paso pointed out and also Laredo (where Rocco lives), and I figured she could show my nieces and nephews where Rocco lives and where Will and I live. Guido outside of the Texas Store

Wednesday

We didn't plan too much for the morning because Ann asked me to watch Gavin while she went to get her hair done, and do a couple other things to get ready for their trip to California. We had breakfast, got cleaned up and Gavin was here. Lisa and my Mom were so excited to get to play with him for a couple of hours because they had heard so much about him from me. He was sleeping when he got here, but didn't sleep too much longer till he was up and ready to go. He was kinda shy at first but that changed real fast. Guido was fascinated with him. He just sat there and watched as Gavin played with all his old toys that Ann had sent over for Guido to play with while he was here, and Gavin is just about walking so we enjoyed watching him stand up by himself and try and take a few steps which he did.








Will was home early so he played with the babies and worked on some stuff for school. Ann got done with everything and came over to get Gavin and she played with Guido for a little bit then it was time for her to go and get Skyler from school. I took Lisa to the hospital to see the baby and we were hoping to get some good news saying that he was going to be released but they were still giving him antibiotics through his IV so they said a couple more days. They told her for sure by Friday he would be out, so at least we could see the light at the end of the tunnel finally! Poor guy!


That night Ann, Skyler, and Gavin came over for my Mom's Wedding Soup and we also had Cesar salad. It was delicious and even Gavin enjoyed the soup! I made some brownie/cookie bars which was also amazing. Ann and I love chocolate so I had to make something special for her :o) My mom also got to meet Skyler who she has also been waiting to meet, and she lover her! Ann and the kids left and we just visited some more and then went to bed.

Tuesday

This day my brother Rocco called my in the morning saying that he was going to be in El Paso for a couple hours to drop off some equipment and some vehicles. He got a hold of us and mom and I met him for lunch at The Cattle Baron. Earlier that day mom, Lisa and I went around to different stores looking at baby stuff and Lisa had to get a few things. I checked out a bunch of carseats/stroller combos because we were going to need a carseat for Dominic for when he got released from the hospital. After we went to a few stores Lisa went to the hospital, and mom and I went to the Mall just to look around a little bit.

After we met up with Rocco, mom and I went to base because I needed to get a few things at the Commissary and I wanted to show mom what an Army Base was like. I took her to the PX where I bought a "Digital Camo" receiving blanket that I have been looking for for our baby.

We picked up Lisa and We basically just hung out that night, and relaxed since the guys were gone and we had time to really relax. That night mom made stuffed peppers which were amazing like always! While my mom was here I was trying to think of things that I was afraid to try because I wasn't too sure of how to make it, so I had my mom help me and now I know lots of my mom's great recipes.

The next couple days...

We woke up Sunday morning and had a wonderful breakfast that mom made, Will had to go to work, and we all got showered and headed to church. After church we dropped Lisa off at the hospital and papa, mom, Dan, Guido and I decided to explore. We fueled up the truck and Papa asked a local at the gas station if he would be able to give us directions to see the Rio Grande River, and the guy just looked at my dad and said, "Why the hell would you wanna see that?" It really isn't something that the locals hear around here, the river around here isn't really an attraction, so we got directions, and started driving. We couldn't get anywhere close, there is a huge fence that separates American and Mexico and the river was on the other side, and we couldn't even get close to it. I did get to show them the check station with all the vehicles coming across from Mexico and let me tell you it was the longest line of cars I have ever seen! After my dad got some pictures we headed back into the city and we started to get hungry. We went to Carino's Italian restaurant since papa was going through withdraw because every Sunday they go to my grandma's for macaroni and meatballs and we didn't have anything at my house to make it. It was very good food though I must say (not better than grandma's or mom's of course) and mom, papa, and Dan enjoyed it and they even got some bottles of wine.

After we were done eating it was about time to pick of Lisa from the hospital and Will from work. Papa wanted to go to the Border Patrol Museum, but it was closed. So we took a ride up the mountain instead to the look out. From up there you can see for miles, it's amazing! Lisa was waiting for a call from the case worker so that Dan could sign the adoption papers because Dan and papa couldn't stay much longer because of work. As we were heading down the mountain the call came in and we met the lady. Dan and Lisa met with her while Mom, Papa, Will, Guido and I went to the grocery store and picked up stuff for mom's HOMEMADE PIZZA!!! Ugh! I have been dying to have it again, I have tried making it a couple of times but it was always a fail, I guess I just need more practice.

We all headed back to the house and started cooking. What a great time in the kitchen with my mom. We had a blast! We ate and then cleaned up and sat around visiting and laughing and having a great time! A case of beer later the guys were ready for bed. Will had to get up the next morning for work and I knew he was going to be hurting, and he was, he hasn't drank that much in a long time because of work. It was an all around GREAT day!

Monday the guys were going to fly out but we had all of the morning and some of the afternoon to hang out with them, Will went to work Lisa and Dan went to the hospital for a little bit, and then we tried to see the river again. This time we went to the other side of the city, but the same thing, the fence, we realized that it is along the whole El Paso border. We grabbed something to eat real quick at Jack in the Box and then we had to get the guys ready to leave :o( I was so NOT ready for them to go, but I knew that I had mom and Lisa for a couple more days, and to tell ya the truth we didn't know how long it was going to be because of the baby. Which was perfectly fine with me! I was enjoying every second of it, and so was Will. My mom made awesome meals for us and I think Will enjoyed having a baby in the house so that he could get a little taste of what it's going to be like in a couple weeks.

That night we had little hamburger patties with yummy gravy and seasoned potatoes, just something quick because Will had to go to class that night.

They have ARRIVED!!

Woke up Saturday morning and couldn't even contain myself! They were really coming, when I woke up they were already in the air, and just waiting to land. They had a connecting flight in Denver but they had a longer layover then they had planned. It was something like 4 hours in the Denver airport. I was just finishing up some stuff here at the house and making sure everything was perfect for their arrival. I got on the computer and started tracking their flight so I could see exactly when their plane took off and landed in El Paso so that I would be able to meet them at the airport right when they arrived. My mom called me when they were in Denver and I still didn't really know if my dad was with them or not, but I had so much on my mind that I didn't even think to ask. She called me again when they landed in El Paso and then I remembered to ask if my dad was with them, and he was!! I started my way over to the airport and I smiled the whole way there, I never thought I would see my parents in El Paso, of all places!


I made it to the airport, got my parking pass, and parked (in the wrong lot, because I was just too excited!) Started walking over to Baggage Claim and I think if I would have walked any faster I would have been running!


Made it! I walked into the doors and I was looking around, saw tons of people and I just kept scanning the crowd, I heard, "There she is!" I looked over and there was my mom and Lisa and baby Guido coming towards me. Gave my mom the biggest hug ever and started to cry with excitement! Hugged Lisa and picked that Guido baby right up and squeezed him (that was the first time meeting him, what a sweet baby). I was looking around and I spotted my dad and Dan waiting for their luggage to come off of the conveyor belt so I immediately went over to great them with a big "Welcome to Mexico!" (El Paso is so close to Mexico and has so much of the culture that we consider it as Mexico". My dad looked at me and said, "WOW, you have gained a lot of weight!" It was funny because I knew it was all in joking because I mean it has been like 4-5 months since he last saw me and I wasn't showing then.

We got all their luggage and started heading to the truck. I grabbed my mom's hand and told her how happy I was to see them! The first stop was for sure going to be the hospital! We needed to see that new baby! While we were driving over there I asked if they had a name for him yet, and they picked Dominic Daniel. She started to laugh because she had thought of it on the plane just randomly, she said it was the first thing that came to her head, but it was perfect!

We got to the hospital, found the maternity ward and walked very rapidly there, Lisa couldn't get there fast enough to see her new son. The baby had to be emitted into the Intensive care unit because he aspirated meconium, which is the earliest stool of a newborn. The put him in the N.I.C.U to make sure that he didn't get an infection from it so they had him hooked up to IV's and was giving him antibiotics. So only Lisa and Dan were aloud in to see him. My mom, dad, Guido and I waited in the waiting room. It was so nice to get to see them again, I missed them so much.


When we left the hospital we went to my house, gave them all a tour and sat down for a minute. Will was doing some yard work and then came in and offered my dad and Dan a beer, they relaxed for a little bit, and by that time it was dinner time. We decided that it was too late to start cooking so we went to Logan's Roadhouse. My dad was in the mood for steak so I figured that was a great place to take him! It was so yummy as always and they really enjoyed it. We ordered and then I took Lisa back to the hospital because she just couldn't stay away from the baby, I mean would to blame her? Came back to the restaurant and had a great relaxing meal. When we left there I told them that we were going to stop at the Walmart down the road so that way Will and I could buy a "pack 'n' play" so that Guido would have a place to sleep, and we were planning on getting one anyways.

We picked up Lisa from the hospital and I could tell everyone was very tired so we just decided to head back to the house and get ready for bed. We sat around visiting, and hanging out and the guys drank some beer and relaxed. It was a great night!

Could it be... Visitors?

I got a call from a very close family friend at the beginning of the week of August 22nd, saying that she was adopting a baby, and it just so happened that the baby was going to be born in EL PASO!!! I was so ecstatic, words couldn't even explain, especially after she told me my MOM and DAD were thinking about coming with them! I was so happy for them because they had just adopted a sweet baby boy back in April named Guido. Then they were doubly blessed when they got the call for this baby. It was such a shock for just about everyone, it happened so fast that Lisa didn't even know when the baby was going to be born, all she told me was to keep my phone on and it should be within the next couple days. So the week went on and I couldn't help to be glued to my phone, just waiting for the call.

I think I cleaned the house every night that week because Will was working the night shift and I was just so excited that I couldn't sit still. It was Friday the 27th when I got the call and I immediately started to tear up because they were really coming down to El Paso. My mom was for sure coming, but my dad still wasn't too sure because he didn't have anything ready at work for the following week. The phone call was very emotional, there was just so much going on in my head, and Lisa was more excited than ever, I mean who wouldn't be? She was getting the most wonderful gift from God... A new baby!

My mom called and said, "Get ready for us, we are coming!" It was the greatest words that my ears have heard, so I started running around trying to get things ready, and making sure I had enough clean towels and sheets and pillows. They said that they were going to try and get in that night, but it was going to be too late so they decided to take a flight out the next morning.

Frogs and snails...

...and puppy dog tails...that's what little boys are made of!! Yep that's right we are having a BOY!!! I finally gave in to Will's wishes on finding out the baby's gender and made an appointment for an ultrasound. Since we are not going to receive any more ultrasounds from the Army Hospital the rest of the pregnancy I had to do some research and find a place close to El Paso that did them "just for fun". The only place around here that I found was about an hour away, which isn't bad, but I was hoping to find a place closer. Anyways, we got in right away and it's a good thing we did because I might have backed out if I would have waited any longer. The lady was having a hard time getting a picture because the baby had his leg pulled up and his foot was hiding everything so she had me moving all over, flipping on to my sides and rubbing my belly and moving the ultrasound thingy all over trying to get the baby to move it's foot. He finally cooperated, unlike last where he was being even more stubborn and the tech couldn't give us a definite answer. The pictures tell all, she got some pretty good ones. What do you think?





He doesn't yet have a name, but it's for sure in discussion. I will be very surprised with myself if he has a name before he is born. I feel like I need to see him in person first. We will see though I still have about 10 weeks!! Oh my gosh!! TEN weeks! Wow, time sure is flying by! Well I guess I better get on the ball and start shopppppingggg!!!!!




**To our little prince... Daddy and Mommy can't wait to meet you face to face, we can't wait to hold you in our arms and love you up!! You are such a blessing to us, you are our little angel! We thank God each and everyday for you! We love you more than words can say!!**

28 Weeks

Well, we have survived another long, HOT month in this Texas heat, and we are all doing great!! This is the beginning of the 3rd trimester; can you believe it, only 3 more months left in this wonderful journey. We still don't know what our little bundle of joy is but we might be able to find out this week, don't worry I will keep everyone posted! Will and I are getting more excited everyday, and we love watching my belly move from little baby kicks and jabs. This past month I have gained more weight than I expected, but it's all baby, right?! Will and I have also started talking about getting our baby registry set up, and suggestions are ALWAYS welcome!!

~Life is beautiful, God is Great!~

24 weeks

This is the start of the last half of my pregnant belly pics... I am 24 weeks and growing fast, it is getting more exciting every day! This is a TRUE blessing for us! Also check out my post "watch me grow" for the first half of belly pics.

"A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for"
~Anonymous

July 18

Kicking Like Crazy

About a month ago i started to really feel the baby for the first time but it was just little flutters here and there. Well almost 24 weeks along and I have a kick boxer in my belly! This kid can sure pack a punch and a kick. It's such a weird feeling and he/she seems to be awake allllll the time. Especially when I'm trying to go to bed, I guess I better get used to it right? Well it's getting even more exciting now because Will can feel he/she moving too and he don't feel left out anymore. We can also see it on the outside of my stomach, it's pretty amazing! Well, the baby is still a surprise! I had a Check up yesterday and the midwife wouldn't do another ultrasound, she said that I had to wait till my next routine one, which is going to be in like a 2 months or so, but If Will really wants to know what we are having we are gonna go to one of those ultrasound places and just get one done there, but it really doesn't matter to me, just as long as our baby is healthy. The midwife was happy with everything, my weight, and the baby's growth and everything. So it was another great check up! Praise God!

**God Bless America**

This was Will and I first 4th of July married and it was wonderful!! We got to spend it with great friends and LOTS of laughs. Even though Will had to work most of the weekend we had to plan around his schedule but it all worked out good! We had a weekend full of things to do, we went to an awesome place called Cattlemans to kick it off. It is a steakhouse located in the middle of the desert about 30 mins away from El Paso. Ann and Joe's friends Liz and Eric came in from California and they had heard about it so they wanted to check it out. So Ann and I did our research and we were very interested in it. When we got there Ann and I were very disappointed that we had never heard about the place. It was great! They had AWESOME food and some animals that you could walk around and check out and even feed. All the boys challenged each other to eat the 2 pound steak called the cowboy, and to all of our surprise all three of them ate every last bit. Then after we were all stuffed from the amazing food and warm apple pie with vanilla ice cream, and chocolate mousse we walked it off by checking out the rest of the place, feeding the animals and swinging on the swings :o)

The 2lb. Steak



Will's Done



Joe's Done


Eric's Done


Me showing Gavin the animals








The Next night we all went over to Ann and Joe's house for the UFC fight. The next day Will had to go into work, and we were both bummed about it, but I guess ya gotta do what ya gotta do. I spent the day getting ready and preparing some yummy M&M cookies for the party that night. We went over to another friends house for dinner and fireworks. It was probably the most amazing fireworks display I have every imagined! Down here in Texas there is no fireworks law except that they cannot be shot off inside the city limits. Will and I were not used to that since we come from PA where there are tons of trees and you cant have fireworks that go so many feet off the ground and you have to get a permit to shoot off the big ones or only certain people have permission such as the fire department. But there were fireworks going off ALL around us! We were literally surrounded. And they lasted for hours and hours. Normally we would have to pay to go see a fireworks display that only last 30 minutes if that, but here it was a completely different story. We even said that the fireworks that we saw this year were even better than ones that we have seen back in PA. So much Fun! All in all we had a great weekend and I am so blessed to have got to spend it with my soldier and my hero. I know a lot of people who couldn't be with their loved ones on this Independence day weekend due to there services overseas. I thank God everyday for our military men and women, past and present, and I pray to Him to watch over them and keep them safe! God Bless America!