In with the new!

"For last year's words belong to last year's language. And next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning." - T.S. Eliot

So much has changed, happened, taken place this past year, I can't imagine how 2010 can top it, but I hope so.

I wish you all love, peace, harmony and happiness for this next year.

Merry Xmas! (belated!)

Swimmin'

Sofia & her Papa' in swimming class. Sofia loves licking up chlorine, this much we've established.

Comfy

Catching up

So it's been quite a while since I've actually taken/had the time to blog, with words that is!

Life as Mommy is, as they (annoyingly) say, the hardest and most rewarding job in the world. Never has a cliche' been truer, I am here to confirm. Sofia is a good baby (though, I believe they all are, in their own ways). Sleeps and eats well, is growing in leaps and bounds, can turn over on her tummy and has a very strong grip. She smiles a lot and has a great sense of humor already, she is the perfect mix of independent and cuddly. And I may be biased, but she's also totally adorable! =)

Life as Jodi is exhausting lately. I would give my left arm for a full night's sleep - would give an arm and a leg for a full day's sleep, in an attempt to catch up. But time is flying quickly and she will be 6 months in the blink of an eye, when sleeping through the night apparently generally starts. Time is flying too quickly for my tastes, but that particular milestone is one of the few we allow ourselves to "look forward to."

I go back to work in mid-January, and life will take another turn. It won't be full time in the office, it's sort of TBD right now. I know my priority is Sofia, no doubt about it, but it will also be nice to get back into my old self, if even for just a few hours a week.

Nap time

Chatterbox!!

Happy Halloweeeeeen!

Back from the UK!

The little one isn't *quite* ready for real people food yet (much less fish 'n chips!) but she sure seems ready to get things going already!

So our long stint of traveling is over (Senigallia and the seaside, the U.S., Gubbio, the UK) and now we're settled back in at home for a while, and it feels good to be sitting still for a second! The traveling was great for Sofia though - she's growing in leaps and bounds, and not just physically. Today was a big milestone day too!: she turned over from her back to her stomach this morning, and then this afternoon as she looked up at her Papa', she let out a belly laugh - up till now, all her laughs had been volume-less and just big ol' smiles! Yay Sofia!

Famiglia Rossi

Senigallia, September 18-20, 2009

Not the greatest picture of me, but it's a cute overall family pic!!

I love when Sofia..

...gives me a huuuuuge smile first thing in the morning
...smiles so big she curls up her nose
..."chats" with her toys
...spits out her bottle so she can stop to smile at her Papa'
...gets all excited and her head bobs as she waits for her bottle
...looks around curiously when we take her to a new place
...makes a funny "bat" noise to get our attention
........I could go on forever....!!!

How cute is she!!??

Perugia

Sofia obviously very impressed with downtown Perugia.

Daddy's girl

Smiley!

This is what they mean when they say it's all worth it!

Funny face!

Me & My Shadow

Little Buddha Baby!

Girly girl!

So, yes, it's PINK and it's a DRESS. But she looks adorable doesn't she? (p.s. it lasted all of 2 hours - then we were back to the white onesie as per usual!)

Smile!

Little peanut!

Pediatrician visit!

9.2 pounds, 22 inches long! Our baby's growwwwing (as you can see from her chubby cheeks!). Dr. Bernacchi says that Sofia is doing great -- and is seemingly pretty advanced too: she turns her head to follow us, is trying to do stuff with her hands already and can hold her head up a little on her own already. I knew she was a genius from the moment I laid eyes on her!

Growing!

Snuggledom

Sofia's 10 day mark!

WELCOME TO THE WORLD SOFIA ESTHER!

Born June 25th, 2009 at 4:20pm, weighing in at 7 lbs, about 19.7 inches long. A long and arduous week in the hospital, but worth all the wait in the world!

41 WEEKS!!!??!!

Never thought we'd be posting a 41 WEEK BELLY PICTURE, but here it is!!

Am I part elephant? Whale?

Well, another almost 5 days have come and gone and nothing to speak of! I have had a couple (2...maybe 3?) possible contractions, but no other progress. As of last Wednesday I was also dialated a full...0cm!!!! Go body!

Double's doing great -- perfectly in position, patiently waiting for her damn Mom to get a move on already! Meanwhile, I keep going every morning to be monitored and we're both still doing fine. I guess we need some more cooking...or else I am part elephant and we'll be here another few months!

Will keep you all posted!

Due Date Today!

Well, today's our official due date and...NADA! I have to go every day now for a "NST" (nonstress test) which monitors Double's heart rate and any contractions I may be having. I am pretty much in the dark about when this may all go down...basically, as long as Double and I are both doing ok, they will keep us as is. Probably after a week or ten days, if nothing's changed, they'll have to induce but who knows! Let's hope Double decides on her own that she's good and cooked!

Still feeling pretty comfortable, though my back is starting to ache. It's the psychological "Am I going to be pregnant forever???" that's a bit more difficult to deal with, but there's not much I can do on that front. Unfortunately Patience has never been one of my greater traits...I suppose I'd better start learning though eh?

Fingers crossed!

TANTI AUGURI!!!!!!

Happy Happy Birthday Andrea!!!!

39 weeks....

...will this be the last pregnancy picture I post?? Only time will tell!

Happy =)

On our way out for what was probably our last date night for a while!

I'm a lucky girl, and little Double is going to be just as lucky to have a father as awesome as Andrea!!

Week 38

Pure beauty *eye roll* I am becoming more and more reluctant to post these pictures!

Double's room: check!

Kelly visit!

Had a really nice, relaxing visit with Kelly this past week. I'm so glad she came down so we could have our last hoorah as two single/baby-less ladies with nothing to do but buy sandals (check!), drink tea (check!) and eat (double check!).

Andrea and I were sad to see her go, but we'll be with her again soon: Kelly's getting married in October and we're going to make a family trip of it, if all goes as planned!

37 weeks...and rising...

36 weeks with the Man Behind the Camera

The 9 Month Mark!

5 weeks left!

Just a month and a half to go...

34 weeks and definitely counting...

UOLVERINO!

You decide.

Oh, and might I add, he went this way to see the actual movie last night. People surely thought we were Wolverine-obsessed!

-7 weeks...

Me and my popping belly...so low I'm afraid to sneeze!

Double Face, Part II

And in this corner, weighing in at a little over 4 pounds...DOUBLE ROSSI!!

32 weeks (approx. 56 days left!)

Current complaints and anxiety:
1. extreme fatigue
2. shortness of breath
3. the CONSTANT peeing!
4. have to pack the infamous hospital bag

Current excitement:
1. maternity leave starts May 16th
2. our pre-natal course is turning out to be really great, and a great way for Andrea and I to spend some down time thinking about our new "Triad" as our trainer calls it!
3. only (approx.) 56 days left!

Week 31...

Belly and me in Double's "reading corner" in the nursery.