Muzzarelli Musings

They say it's Spring...

noreply@blogger.com (The Muzzarellis) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 12:44:00 -0400

Hi all!

Just wanted to share some mixed pictures of our spring so far. The weather in South Florida has been absolutely perfect (sorry to all you northerners!) and we've been outside at our favorite parks and playgrounds almost every day. Diana is 20 months already and is climbing, running and talking up a storm - such a fun age! We also celebrated Brandon's birthday (can't believe my little bro is 16 and driving) as well as Danny and Gary's birthdays last weekend with two great family dinners.

I'm keeping busy chasing after our little lady in My Gym class, the park and all kinds of new activities like picking strawberries and visiting a local nature center to check out the turtles. Danny has three weeks to go before he's officially an MBA grad and we can't wait to head up to Gainesville in mid April for the ceremony.

Spring pics

That's all for now!

xoxo
Sash, Danny and Di

Hello 2011! Family, playground, zoo and more...

noreply@blogger.com (The Muzzarellis) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 18:52:00 -0500

Hi all!

Don't have a whole lot of time to "blog" about life these days but here are pics from the past month since we rang in the New Year. Besides being busy busy busy with work, school and life in general, we've had some great times at the playground, with family and especially at the Palm Beach Zoo last week!

Check out our latest pics:

Hello 2011: Mixed Snapshots

Lions and Tigers and Bears, on my!

xoxo
Sash, Danny and Di

Chrismakkuh

noreply@blogger.com (The Muzzarellis) — Wed, 5 Jan 2011 21:33:00 -0500

Been a busy couple of weeks for Danny, Di and I but wanted to at least share pics from the holidays...

Our holiday pictures

Happy New Year!
xoxo

A Disney princess in training...

noreply@blogger.com (The Muzzarellis) — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 12:44:00 -0500

If we thought Di enjoyed her first trip to Disney at 10 months old, we were even more excited by how much our little girl reacted to her 2nd official trip to see Minnie and Mickey! This was just a quick overnight trip due to our busy schedules but we definitely packed in the fun!

Alex shows Di the monkeys

Uncle Robbie ready to catch

We arrived Friday around lunchtime and met our Orlando family - Uncle Rob, Aunt Caryn and cousin Alex - at the Animal Kingdom. We had a great time seeing the Festival of the Lion King show and then headed over to the Dinoland section. Diana, Danny, Alex and I went on a mini roller coaster type of ride where you sit in a dinosaur and go around and around and up and down. Needless to say, our little daredevil loved it. After some running around at the big dinosaur-themed playground, we saw Di's favorite animal - MONKEYS!- and then headed to the hotel to freshen up before an early dinner at Sweet Tomatoes. We all slept well that night!

Di in full princess mode

Smiling for Daddy on the merry-go-round

The next day we headed over to Downtown Disney which is kind of like a theme park in itself! They were having a sidewalk chalk art festival and also had tons of life size Legos on display (everything from dogs to dinosaurs to trains) outside the Legoland store. We then headed into the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique where little girls can get princess makeovers complete with hair and makeup! Di is a bit too young to have her makeup done (maybe next trip!) but walked right over to the dozens of princess outfits and picked out a beautiful yellow tutu and some bracelets to match! She insisted on wearing the tutu throughout the entire day - we definitely have a mini princess in training on our hands! Downtown Disney also had a carousel and a little train for toddlers and Di had such a blast. She kept kissing her horse on the merry-go-round!

In front of the Epcot ball

Di gets a lift from her Daddy

From there, we went to Epcot to enjoy the rest of our day. Diana could have seriously watched the monorail speed by the entrance all afternoon but we finally pulled her away to meet the characters. We really underestimated how excited she would be to meet Mickey and Minnie. She almost jumped out of my arms to kiss each character and I could tell when we met Minnie that she was just in awe of her and her beautiful polka dot dress. I remember feeling the same way meeting Minnie as a kid and to watch my own daughter make the same memories is pretty amazing. After the characters we headed for the rides including The Living Seas with Nemo, The Land, and Journey Into Imagination. I also went to see Captain EO - I couldn't believe they brought back the Michael Jackson film from the 80s - very cool!

Minnie Mouse!

We headed home around dinnertime and although we could have spent another few days at the parks, it was really nice to wake up Sunday morning in our own bed and have the day to regroup and unpack. You really don't realize how tiring a Disney vacation with a toddler is until you get home!

So excited to meet Mickey!

Our Disney trip was yet another wonderful memory and we can't wait to get back again!
Click here to view all of our Disney pictures.

November pics

noreply@blogger.com (The Muzzarellis) — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 08:06:00 -0500

Hi all!

No time to write a whole entry this morning. We leave for our 2nd Disney trip with the little lady tomorrow morning so lots of packing to do!

Just wanted to share some pics from the past two weeks:

Grandma Ann turned 80 years young last week and we had a wonderful dinner celebration!

Here are some mixed snapshots of Di at the Mizner Park Green Living Fair, the Parkland Farmer's Market, at dinner with Abuelo and Uncle Alexander and Danny and me celebrating our 3rd anniversary.

More pictures after we visit Mickey and Minnie this weekend!

Halloween!

noreply@blogger.com (The Muzzarellis) — Mon, 1 Nov 2010 20:34:00 -0400

Last year, Diana was about 3 months old for her first Halloween. She really had no idea what was going on and I think she even fell asleep before we went out to trick or treat! She did look pretty cute in a black onesie with an orange tutu though!

This year, our little lady is going on 16 months and we had a blast this past Halloween weekend! Di has been pointing out all of the Halloween decorations in our neighborhood for weeks now and has tried on her costume and carried her bright pink pumpkin around all month. So in other words, Halloween was MUCH more of an event for her (and for Danny and I) this year.

This past Saturday started off with a car milestone for Di! Thanks to a (very) early Christmas gift from Nonna Linda and Grandpa Gary, we stashed Di's infant car seat in the garage and installed her new "big girl" toddler car seat! She was so excited to be facing forward and sitting up higher. I know it's cheesy but with each new stage or milestone she hits, I get a little misty eyed. As Danny and I looked back at her from the front seat, we just kind of shook our heads in disbelief at how fast she's growing up, how big she looks and how much she's changed just since her 1st birthday this past July.

On Saturday, we met my Grandpa "Rubio" and Aunt Dianita in Pembroke Pines at the always delicious Village Tavern. They come to see us all the way from Miami so the Shops at Pembroke Gardens is a great meeting place. We had a wonderful meal with them as we always do, chatting about our lives and enjoying good food and wine. Diana ate a little bit of everything and had so much fun visiting. She especially loved running around a huge fountain outside the restaurant after dinner. She squealed in delight each time the water splashed up and clapped her hands! Our little girl definitely loves to put on a show and be the center of attention.

Sunday was Halloween! We had the whole gang over including Grandpa Ron and Grandma Susie, Uncle Brandon, Nana and Poppa, Gigi, Aunt Jo, Aunt Alex and Uncle Matthew with Cousin Roman and Nonna and Grandpa. Whew! After some pizza, cupcakes and lots of singing and playing, we got Roman and Di their costumes. Roman was a pro and put his horse getup on right away. Diana took a little more convincing!

After taking a picture or two with her huge fairy tutu, she decided just to go with the wings! Hey, what more do you want out of a toddler?! She then insisted on pushing Abby Caddaby down the street in her doll stroller while wearing her wings. (Click here to watch the video) Every now and then, she stopped to do the pumpkin dance that we taught her - too cute! Thanks to Roman, Di finally seemed to get the hang of knocking on doors and getting candy in her pumpkin. Our group must've been quite a sight - all 10 of us (some holding cocktails and beer!) parading down our neighborhood street watching the kids trick or treat!

Di and Roman were troopers but after about two blocks the yawning started. After dumping out her candy and eating a Milky Way mini, Diana was down for the count. I'd say it was a pretty great night for the adults and kids alike!

We've had a pretty wonderful October with lots of fall fun and now we have our 2nd Disney trip to look forward to next weekend - can't wait!

Click here to view all of our Halloween pics.

October Fun

noreply@blogger.com (The Muzzarellis) — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 20:45:00 -0400

After one HOT and HUMID summer, we stepped outside one early October morning last week and felt a cool breeze. Yay!! Danny and I love a lot of things about South Florida, but the sticky, sweltering summers are not one of them.

Now, autumn here in Florida is not really how you'd picture it up in New York - leaves changing, farmers markets filled with squash, temperatures in the 50s. BUT, we are dipping into the high 60s in the evenings and the humidity has dropped wayyy down. Hey, we'll take what we can get down here!

Slightly cooler weather means a whole new set of outdoor activities we can now enjoy with our little lady! Here's what we've been up to:

My Aunt Janet and Uncle David came down for the weekend from Connecticut at the beginning of the month. They had not yet met Di and we all spent the day at my parents' beach condo. Their new place has a beautiful pool right on the intercoastal so while you swim, you can watch all kinds of boats and yachts drive by. Diana has now learned to say "boat" and I really think she could sit out there all day and wave to everyone on board! After a dip in the pool, we lit up the grill for dinner and the guys even enjoyed a round of cigars as the sun set. I always feel like we're on vacation when we spend the day at my parents' place - it's nice to take advantage of living so close to the ocean.

Danny and I finally took Di back to Butterfly World this past weekend. My mom and I had taken her back in the spring and we'd been waiting for the first cooler weekend to take her back. It was such a nice, relaxing morning! We walked around the butterfly aviaries and then looked at all different kinds of exotic flowers and hummingbirds.

Di and her Daddy ran across a long suspension bridge with our little girl laughing the entire way - such a mini daredevil! I think we'll have to try and go back again in the next few months - it's only about 10 minutes away and a great way to spend a morning.

And last but definitely not least, we are getting in the Halloween spirit! Diana is going to be an Abby Caddaby-type fairy and she is already practicing wearing her tutu and wings. She also picked out a bright pink pumpkin at Target. I can't wait to see her face on Halloween when she realizes that it gets filled up with candy! Danny and I also took her to a local pumpkin patch here in Boca. She was SO excited to run up and down the aisles of pumpkins. She finally settled on one big one to carve with her Daddy and four little ones to play with.

Click here to see all of our early autumn pics.
Click here to see Di in action at the pumpkin patch : )

Can't wait until we go trick-or-treating in a few weeks!
More soon...

September Snapshots

noreply@blogger.com (The Muzzarellis) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 21:13:00 -0400

As much as I dislike just clumping together blog entries, the days kind of get away from me and I find myself having to do just that! So I apologize, but this is going to be a round up of everything that's been going on with us since Labor Day...

Danny had maybe a week of downtime before his third semester started to get busy - now it's well underway with papers due, lectures to watch and conference calls to schedule. We miss him on the weekends when he has to study instead of coming out to do fun things with us, but we know all of this will pay off when he's officially an MBA grad next April! I'm continuing to work 2 days a week and I'm also now contributing to a monthly food blog called DishKebab.

Diana is going on 15 months, I can't even believe it! She is just a bundle of energy and knows exactly what she wants already and is very stubborn about getting it (sounds a lot like someone I know...hint, hint, her Mommy maybe?!) We've gotten very good at keeping her busy so when it's time to sleep, she is ready (and we're usually ready to crash as well!).

Some fun goings on this month:

Aunt Stacey came down from North Carolina for a quick visit a few weekends ago. We all met at my parents' beach condo to swim and have lunch. Such a nice day!

We went to Jump Zone for a friend's 4th birthday party two weekends ago. As a parent, I now get why it's such a good thing to be invited to someone's birthday bash. It's an excuse to play, jump, get LOTS of energy out, have some dinner and come home ready for bed! Diana couldn't jump in the big bounce houses with the older preschoolers, but they had a bounce house just for toddlers 3 and under and she loved it - was laughing and smiling the entire time! Throw in some pizza and a cupcake and what more could you want out of a late Sunday afternoon?

And last, but definitely not least, Danny and I took our little lady to see Sesame Street Live this past Saturday (a belated 1st birthday gift from Mom and Dad). She had the best time! Di is already a budding Sesame Street fan and she can look at a book and point to all of the characters: Elmo, Big Bird, Zoe, Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie and her favorite - Abby Caddaby. Her eyes were so wide as she watched the characters come out and dance and sing - it was as if she couldn't believe they were right in front of her instead of on TV! A big Elmo balloon and two hours of dancing later, we headed home. What a fun afternoon!

And on a slightly more somber note...I just wanted to mention that it's been a year this month since our beloved poodle "Chloe" passed away. For those of you who don't know Chloe...my stepdad rescued her off the streets of Miami when I was in high school - and she came to New York with me for college, then to Atlanta with Danny and I for two years and finally, back down to SoFla where we started our family and bought our first house. Diana was only two months old when Chloe passed away and I am thankful that we got a picture of them together. Chloe was our first baby and we will never, ever forget her....but don't be too sad for us....we've got Henry, Stanley and now Sophie keeping us very busy in the canine department!

Hope you enjoyed our snapshots of September - another busy month here in the Muzzarelli household. Click here to see all of our September pictures. We're looking forward to October - hopefully some cooler weather will be coming soon and we can do more outdoors with our little girl! We're also starting to get excited for Halloween. Di has a fairy costume all ready to go for trick or treating.

More next month....

Labor Day weekend

noreply@blogger.com (The Muzzarellis) — Wed, 8 Sep 2010 21:42:00 -0400

Every now and then a long weekend comes along that leaves you feeling productive, relaxed and revived all at the same time. Danny, Di and I were really looking forward to spending the holiday weekend doing the things we love, with the people we love.

Saturday morning started with Danny whipping up some delicious crepe-pancakes, which were just these scrumptious little silver dollar pancakes that tasted like crepes - YUM! We then headed to Deerfield Beach to splash in the morning waves and get Diana's energy out! I think the water was a little choppier than normal from all the tropical activity out there in the Atlantic, but our little lady didn't seem to mind a bit! She splashed with her Dad and they jumped over every wave. She's also started to kick her feet, which is the beginning of learning how to swim I guess. And she now gets up from playing in the sand and runs straight into the water - with mom or dad frantically chasing behind her! We have a little beach bum on our hands for sure - and we plan to keep taking her on beach outings as long as the 90 degree weather keeps up here in SoFla.

We got back from the beach around lunchtime and Di spent most of the afternoon in her new playhouse filled with balls (a birthday gift from cousin Roman that we just got around to setting up).
Then Nonna Linda and Grandpa Gary took Diana for a few hours in the evening while Danny and I got some errands done. Every time Nonna babysits Di comes back with a new trick! She just taught her to put her hands out and shrug her shoulders when we say "where's grandpa?" or "where's the doggie?" Too cute!

Danny snuck out to play golf with his dad early Sunday morning and Aunt Jo came to hang with Diana and I. We watched ducks out back in the lake and then played in Diana's newly redecorated toy area (a big thanks to Grandma Susie for helping us with this project last week).
Sunday night was Vivie's wedding at the Biltmore in Coral Gables. Vivie is like a little sister to me and I've known her since high school, so it was really neat to watch her walk down the aisle. She and Flavio are an adorable couple and it was a beautiful night. Danny and I don't get dressed up to go out much these days so that was a special treat for us too!

Monday was about getting things done around the house: a trip to Home Depot and remulching the garden, vacuuming and cleaning. Around 3pm our families came over for a BBQ. Danny and I have used our grill maybe 4 times since we got it for Christmas and we decided Labor Day would be the perfect time to put it to good use! So nice to have both of our families over to unwind and enjoy the last weekend of summer. It was even more special because my Grandpa Rubio and Aunt Dianita came up from Miami to join us - they hadn't seen Di in a couple months and couldn't believe how much she had grown.

A great weekend and a great way to end the summer!

Click here to see all of our Labor Day pics.

Goodbye August...Hello September

noreply@blogger.com (The Muzzarellis) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:48:00 -0400

Well that went fast! Seems like we were just celebrating my birthday, Mother's Day and Memorial Day and here we are coming up on Labor Day weekend - the unofficial last weekend of summer.

I haven't been too great about posting these past 2 or 3 weeks because we have been one busy family, as usual! I am VERY proud of Danny for completing the 2nd semester of his MBA. If he hasn't been at work these past 3 weeks, he's been studying and studying some more. He just got back from a whirlwind weekend of finals and orientation for his 3rd semester this past Sunday night. April will be here before we know it and Danny will be officially DONE with school!

Meanwhile, I've been juggling writing, my part time job, our very busy little girl (who's going on 14 months!), our house and 3 dogs. Yep, we're now a three dog family! When my parents moved into their new beach condo, they couldn't take all of the dogs, so Sophie has come to stay with us - not sure for how long. She's a sweet, older girl and not too much trouble. Just one more leash on our evening walks I guess!

A few late summer pics!

To all you moms and dad's out there, IKEA is a GREAT summer outing. It's all indoors, you can browse the huge display areas and marketplace downstairs, the kids section has a little play area and the food is delicious and inexpensive. We've brought Di twice in the past week - she has a ball and slept very well after all the running around!

My mom's birthday was August 16th and I wanted to give her a little break from unpacking their new place. We had everyone over to eat mac & cheese, cake and just hang out. Diana is still in celebration mode from her 1st birthday this summer so whenever anyone sings "Happy Birthday" she thinks it's her big day all over again and smiles and claps her hands!

Danny and I have been wanting to eat at Michael's Genuine Food & Drink in Miami after seeing it featured on the Food Network show "The Best Thing I Ever Ate." We finally did a "date night" two weeks ago with our friends Charlie and Nicole. The food was good, but the dessert was TO DIE FOR! I really haven't stopped thinking about the banana toffee panini with caramel ice cream and homemade peanut brittle...yum.

And last but not least, Diana was a little bundle of smiles and energy when Daddy got home from Gainesville on Sunday night and gave her a stuffed Gator the next morning!

So summer is winding down... Between the beach, big family dinners, Diana's first birthday celebration and Danny finishing his 2nd semester, I'd say we've had a pretty good couple of months. We didn't take any big trips, but really just enjoyed spending time with friends and family and watching our little girl grow up.

So goodbye August...and hello September!

Soaking up summer

noreply@blogger.com (The Muzzarellis) — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:30:00 -0400

The weeks surrounding Diana's 1st birthday in July got a little crazy as we prepared for her big bash. Now that the thank you notes have been sent out, Di's one year photos have been taken (and hung up in our house) and we've absorbed the fact that our little girl is really a year old already, we've turned our attention to just enjoying the rest of summer. Working and studying aside, we've had good times at the beach, at our weekly My Gym class and with family & friends.

Here are some of the pics!

My Gym - Summer 2010

Muzzarelli Dinner - August 2010

More soon!

Goodbye Weston

noreply@blogger.com (The Muzzarellis) — Mon, 2 Aug 2010 11:35:00 -0400

This August marks a big change in the lives of my mom, stepdad and little brother. After almost 25 years living in Weston, they're packing up and moving to a condo near Fort Lauderdale beach this Friday morning.

While I have some reservations about watching them leave the house I've lived in (give or take a few college years) from the time I was 5 to the time I was almost 23, it's time for them to move on. My little brother Brandon is not so little anymore - he's beginning 10th grade in a few weeks and is getting ready to drive - in 3 short years he'll be off to college and starting his own life. And my parents are ready to downsize - they no longer need a two story house with a pool and a huge living room.

This house has been such a big part of my life - even though I haven't lived there for almost 5 years, it will always be home. It's the place where I swam with my best friend and neighbor Laurie every day during our elementary school summers, where we set up Brandon's nursery before he was born, where we had Thanksgivings and Passovers, where I took pictures before homecoming dances, where we held my high school and college graduation parties and more recently, my baby shower and Diana's first birthday party just a few weekends ago. Her party was a wonderful way to end so many years of memories.

I'll miss going over there to swim and eat Sunday night dinners and I'll miss Weston with its palm tree lined streets and little town center. But it's time to move on and make new memories.

Here are a few pics we took over the weekend when we went down to say goodbye to my childhood home on 1075 Capistrano.

Diana's one year pictures

noreply@blogger.com (The Muzzarellis) — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:37:00 -0400

Our little lady at a year old!

Thanks to Tony Ozegovich of TRMV Photo for the beautiful pictures.

We did it! Di's first birthday party was a success!

noreply@blogger.com (The Muzzarellis) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:14:00 -0400

After lots of anticipation, Di's big day finally arrived! We celebrated her actual birthday Friday evening with pizza (her favorite!) and a big slice of yellow cake with chocolate frosting.

Saturday was party time! We had all of our close family and friends over to my parents' house in Weston to celebrate (minus a few people that were on summer vacations). Abby Caddaby, Elmo and the whole Sesame Street gang were on the plates, napkins, centerpieces and banners. Balloons were everywhere! Danny took the day off last Friday to help set up and thanks to my Grandma (Gigi), Aunt Jo, Mom, Ron and Brandon, the house looked amazing!

Diana definitely knew it was her birthday - she loves hamming it up and was shaking maracas, waving at everyone and just checking out the whole scene.
Check out Di shaking the maracas...and more maracas!

The kids ate at a special table and then everyone went into the pool. The grownups enjoyed a six foot La Spada's sub and some delicious salads and sides and chatted in the air condition : ) We ended the afternoon with a HUGE Elmo birthday cake - Nonna Linda was in charge of dessert and even got Diana her own mini cake to dig into. Her eyes lit up while everyone sang Happy Birthday - we've been singing it to her for two months now so she knew the song well. She stuck her tiny fingers right into the cake, got frosting everywhere (including Mom's shirt) and clapped her hands as everyone watched her make a total mess.
Watch the cake videos!
Cake Time
Cake Time2

I'd say the day was a success! It was a big milestone not only for Diana, but for Danny and me too. We made it through thick and thin during the first year of her life, and I think we're doing a pretty good job as first time parents. We really couldn't ask for a more sweet, spirited, beautiful, smart and energetic little girl! We can't wait to dive into year two!

Click here to visit the full picture gallery of her 1st birthday.

A budding animal lover!

noreply@blogger.com (The Muzzarellis) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 10:40:00 -0400

Okay, so I wasn't going to post a new entry until after Di's first birthday party this weekend, but we went to the Museum of Science and Discovery in downtown Fort Lauderdale yesterday and I had to share a video of Diana looking at a huge turtle:

Di and the turtle

We've posted the pics from our outing on our Picasa website too : )

Museum pics

More to come after Diana's first birthday this weekend!

Wrapping up year one...

noreply@blogger.com (The Muzzarellis) — Tue, 6 Jul 2010 22:29:00 -0400

As Diana nears her first birthday this July 16th, we are enjoying every minute of month 11! Sure, our house is filled with lots of great toys and our backyard always has a duck or squirrel to point at, but when you're on the go like Di is now, you want new adventures and new experiences! Lately, we've noticed that our newly mobile little girl needs outlets for her energy, so we've been having fun getting out and about as June ends and July begins.

First up: My Gym in Coral Springs - Aunt Jo and I took her to her first "Tiny Tykes" class last Wednesday and she had an absolute ball during circle time and even went in a swing that the teachers pushed her back and forth across the room in! We'll be going every week to learn new things and play with other energetic toddlers.

Diana has been to the beach a few times now and we've started to take advantage of living only 10 minutes away. Last Thursday we met Matthew, Alex and cousin Roman right down the street at Deerfield Beach for a morning of sun, sand and splashing in the waves. Diana was so tired she fell asleep with sand all over her in the car on the way home - uh oh! Right into the bath when she woke up later that afternoon!
We also went to visit my good friend Rach at her grandpa's beach condo in Delray this past Monday afternoon - she was in for a quick visit from New York and it was SO good to see her! We managed to sneak in some beach time in between rain drops.

And last but not least, we spent some wonderful downtime with both sides of the family for 4th of July - Di's first! Danny had to work and study Saturday, so we packed up the diaper bag and headed to Weston to spend the day with Grandpa Ron, Grandma Susie, Uncle Brandon, Aunt Jo, Great Grandma Ann and Great Grandpa Manny. We had a nice, relaxing day swimming in the jacuzzi and watching old family videos (including MY first birthday party in 1983!) Here's a video of Di hanging with the fam in Weston, hamming it up as usual!

On Sunday, we had the Muzzarellis over our place for a BBQ to celebrate Linda's birthday. We gave Danny's mom a break from cooking and fired up our grill with everything from corn on the cob to hamburgers to vegan Tofurky sausage. After dinner and cake, I brought Diana outside to see fireworks from the back porch. As we expected, she wasn't scared in the least and even made little popping noises to imitate the fireworks!

We've really been having a great time this summer seeing the world through Diana's eyes and introducing her to new things almost every day. Preparations are underway for her 1st birthday party next weekend and we really can't wait!

At this time last year...

noreply@blogger.com (The Muzzarellis) — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 18:53:00 -0400

We've been so busy the past couple of months that I looked down at my day planner on my desk this morning and realized that today is already June 26th - that means it's been exactly one year since we closed on our house and moved in. Wow. It's amazing how an event that was a year ago can feel like it just happened yet it also feels like SO much has gone on since then.

Looking back, I guess we may have been a little crazy! Three weeks before my due date and in the sweltering South Florida summer heat, we packed up everything in our quaint little rented townhouse in Plantation and move a half hour north to our first home in Deerfield Beach. We put our families to work for 2 weeks straight until everything was moved in and in order for Diana's arrival. I was actually shopping at IKEA and having Danny move a couch up to 5 days before my c-section - it's almost funny looking back on the chaos now!

We have enjoyed our first home this past year - and it has been good to us!
I remember that very first night about a week before Diana was born that we finally felt "settled" in our house after a lot of hard work...there I was, huge and pregnant, Danny was exhausted from moving and working...and the two of us just cooked dinner and watched a movie together in our new living room. We knew life was about to change with little Di's arrival but we couldn't wrap our heads around just how different and wonderful it would really be.

We brought our baby girl home from the hospital 9 days later...and we've watched her crawl, stand and take her first steps here. She loves watching the ducks out back by the lake (but I think Stanley and Henry enjoy barking at them more!) We love our neighborhood- the playground down the street, the other dogs we meet on evening walks.

Yes, our house is still a work in progress. On any given weekend we have 10 to-do projects that never seem to get done! But little by little we get things organized, decorated, planted and hung.

Our first year here has been busy and great all at once. It's nice to stop and reminisce and look forward to what the next year will bring!

(PICTURES Top to Bottom: VERY pregnant sitting in our new living room visiting with my good friend Rach, our nice, neat house...the calm before the baby storm!, Diana arrives home for the very first time at 2 days old, our back porch)

Summer Celebrations

noreply@blogger.com (The Muzzarellis) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 11:13:00 -0400

We had two very special celebrations this past week.

It was my Grandma Sally (or "Gigi")'s 77th birthday last Thursday. She watched me grow up and now she is a big part of Diana's life too! It's so sweet to see Di's face light up when her great grandma walks in the door or sings to her or plays with her. My grandma is definitely 77 years YOUNG - she comes over to help me with anything and everything I need (she's the BEST laundry folder I've ever seen!) We are all so fortunate that she is energetic enough to keep up with our crazy family! Diana is going to grow up really knowing how wonderful her great grandma is! We were lucky enough to spend Gigi's birthday with her - she came over to help out as usual and we made her a key lime pie and sang happy birthday!

Next up was Father's Day - Danny's first! We kicked off the weekend on Saturday morning and joined my family at their timeshare up in Singer Island (about an hour north in the West Palm Beach area). Aunt Jo came along too and we had a blast with Grandma Susie, Grandpa Ron and Uncle Brandon. Diana had been in the sand before but never in the ocean and SHE LOVED IT! She laughed as Grandma Susie jumped up with her during each wave and she could've dug in the sand for hours. We found a little time to relax too - we ate lunch together by the pool and enjoyed the gorgeous day and ocean breezes.

On Sunday, Di and I hung out and went to the park while Danny golfed with his dad and brother. Later on, we headed to the Muzzarelli's for Father's Day dinner. It was great to just be together and unwind before the start of a new week.

(PICTURES From left to right: Diana helps Gigi blow out the candles on her key lime pie, Di and Grandma Susie laughing as the waves come on shore, Diana gives Daddy his Father's Day card and coffee mug with her picture on it, playing with Nonna in the kitchen after dinner)

New Di video

noreply@blogger.com (The Muzzarellis) — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 11:45:00 -0400

Couldn't resist posting a new video of Diana!

Diana at 11 months old

11 months is the last stop before...Toddlerhood!

noreply@blogger.com (The Muzzarellis) — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:08:00 -0400

Today Diana is 11 months old. They say after the one year birthday, toddlerhood officially begins! I have to say that I feel like we are living with one already! In all of the months since Diana was born, this past month we've seen the most changing and growing in our little girl. Right before our eyes, she has morphed into a tiny (but mighty) person. I'm starting to see the baby slowly fade away and catch glimpses of the toddler years that are almost upon us:

The big deal this month is WALKING!! Diana took a few steps right before the 10 month mark and now she...is...everywhere! Walking from room to room, climbing over the dog gate to get into the kitchen, carrying things around, knocking other things down...whew! Mom & dad are tired and I'm told even more adventures are to come when she starts running! Danny and I are babyproofing on the fly, as quickly as we can. She reaches up to a shelf to pull books down, we move them up to a higher cabinet. And oops, can she really reach that lamp already? In a flash, we've unplugged it and it's stashed in the guest room closet.
She is becoming so aware of the world around her! She waves bye-bye and blows kisses to everyone, including the check out girl at Wal-Mart and the nice older man in line behind us at Starbucks - too funny!
She can't stop saying "dog" "duck" and her new favorite word "DAT!" (which we're pretty sure is "that") And she uses it for everything that's not a dog or a duck (or mama or dada!).
Di also knows what we're saying (even more than we realize I'm sure)! She understands things like "bring the ball to mommy" and "go show Aunt Jo your toy." Of course, she also understands "no" but likes to ignore us!
And perhaps the cutest new "thing" - she uses a toothbrush and imitates Danny brushing his teeth and she also brushes her own hair (and moms hair too) with her mini hairbrush.

So many new things, every day and every week are exciting, wonderful and exhausting all at once!

(PICTURES - from left to right: Di in her highchair having a breakfast of bananas and Cheerios, taking a swing with her new "golf club," hanging out with her Daddy, running away with a chocolate ice cream mustache before mom could wipe her face off, with Grandma Susie in the pool)

Next up, her first birthday party at Grandma Susie and Grandpa Ron's in July!!

Summertime, and the livin' is easy...

noreply@blogger.com (The Muzzarellis) — Mon, 7 Jun 2010 17:13:00 -0400

May was a pretty busy month for us here in the Muzzarelli household with a wedding, Mother's Day, my birthday and Danny's 1st semester finals. Oh yeah, and an exhausting but wonderful trip to Disney. Whew! I think Danny and I were both pretty happy that we had no major events planned for the beginning of summer, other than spending time with our families and watching Di enjoy the pool. Last summer, Diana was a newborn so we spent most of July and August holed up in the house. This summer, we are looking forward to splashing around in the pool and at the beach with our little girl!

We've taken the last couple of weeks since my birthday to catch up on (a little) sleep, recharge our batteries and just hang out with people we love. Here are some pictures!

Diana and Danny went to dinner at Nonna Linda and Grandpa Gary's a couple weekends ago and gave mom some time to nap (thank you!!). As usual, Diana had a great time with the Muzzarelli clan, especially cousin Roman and his giant Legos! We also finally went down to Plantation last Wednesday to see Matthew, Alex & Roman's new townhouse. It was so good to see them settled into their own place.

We also have had two nice dinners with the Hafler side of the family! Diana had a total blast in the pool at Grandma and Grandpa's yesterday afternoon. She is definitely a Florida baby.

Here are two videos of Little Miss Di enjoying the pool!

Di in the pool
More Di in the pool

We FINALLY spent some time with my aunt Dianita and Grandpa Rubio - they came up from Miami this past Saturday and after playing with Diana at our place, we all had a delicious dinner at PF Chang's. They hadn't seen Diana in a few months and couldn't believe how big she's gotten and how she's walking all over the house.

I even managed to sneak in some girl time! Danny hung with Diana while Aunt Jo and I went to Cheesecake Factory and then to see Sex and the City 2 last week. It's so fun to get dressed up and go out every once in a while. That doesn't happen a lot these days!

So that's the start of our summer...even though we've got three months of hot, humid weather and hurricane season ahead of us, I think the next few months will be filled with fun as Diana enjoys the beach and the pool...and her family!

28 feels a lot closer to 30 than 27!

noreply@blogger.com (The Muzzarellis) — Wed, 26 May 2010 08:03:00 -0400

I think once you hit 25, the years just kind of start to go faster. All of the sudden, here I am, married with a baby and turning 28 - where did the time go? In some ways, I feel like I just graduated college! To make matters worse, Danny is a year younger than me, so he incessantly teases me that I will be the one to turn 30 first. Very funny.

Here are a few pictures from my 28th birthday weekend. It started off this past Saturday with Danny, Di and I going to one of our favorite breakfast spots, Panera Bread in Boca Center. Then Danny and I got to do something we rarely do these days - go out to dinner by ourselves! Danny's parents came over to babysit Di and we headed to Sublime, a vegan, organic restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale - so delicious! I hadn't been there in about 5 years and Danny had never been. We had a great time drinking wine, savoring the food and enjoying an hour and a half of adult conversation.

Sunday was just about relaxing in the morning as a family - Danny made a delicious omelet for breakfast and we hung out and watched Diana practice her new favorite activity - walking and getting into everything! Our families then came over and we had a great, noisy dinner like we always do, topped off with key lime birthday pie - my favorite!

It was so nice to spend the weekend celebrating and I'm looking forward to the coming year!

(Pictures from top, left to right: I get some help from Danny & Diana blowing out the candles on my key lime pie, Sublime restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale, the delicious fire-roasted artichoke appetizer we shared, Ron with his grandog Henry, Grandma Ann, Aunt Jo & Gigi at my birthday celebration, Gary, Matthew & Grandpa Manny relax on the couch, Alex and cousin Roman hang out on our porch, Brandon & Sarah in the kitchen)

Birthday Video!

noreply@blogger.com (The Muzzarellis) — Sun, 23 May 2010 22:27:00 -0400

I'll be sure to post a full entry tomorrow, but thought this video was too cute not to share right away!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUBPYuUTctM

She's mobile now! Diana @10 months old...

noreply@blogger.com (The Muzzarellis) — Thu, 20 May 2010 20:55:00 -0400

Diana spent her 10 month old birthday at the Magic Kingdom this past Sunday and she had the time of her life! Now that the craziness of our Disney weekend has settled down and the many loads of laundry have been done (thanks to my Grandma Sally!) and we've caught up on (some) sleep, I've started to think about all the new things Diana has done just since the 9 month mark - they really change and grow fast!

The biggie is that she took her first consecutive steps last week - 7 to be exact! It started a few weeks ago with a quick one-two step and then a plop down - it didn't take long for everything to click and she's now taken up to 12 steps in a row - so cool! Unfortunately, this also means getting into a LOT more things and ongoing baby proofing and chasing by mom & dad!

Di also now has four teeth - two on the bottom and the two on the top just sprouted up. She looks so cute with two front top teeth when she gives us that big smile.

Right after she turned 9 months, she also said her 3rd word - DUCK! Over and over she says "duck, duck, duck!" when she sees the ducks out by our lake or in her "Old MacDonald" book.

I say every age with Diana is the most fun but I really do think these next few months leading up to her first birthday are going to be full of exciting adventures! Almost every day brings new things and a growing awareness of the world around her. This little person is evolving right before our eyes! We've got to get our running shoes on to keep up with her in month 11!

(Pictures from top, left to right: Diana at 10 months, her first pair of shoes, unraveling a roll of paper towels, practicing taking steps while chewing the remote control, reading her Old MacDonald book, with Mom & Dad at PF Chang's - she's already got a handle on those chopsticks!)

Diana goes to Disney

noreply@blogger.com (The Muzzarellis) — Wed, 19 May 2010 10:07:00 -0400

Even though Danny and I are both huge Disney fans, we weren't planning to take Diana up to Orlando until sometime after her first birthday - at this age, we weren't sure if she'd be old enough to enjoy all the overwhelming sights and sounds of the theme parks. BUT, it just so happens that Danny was invited to play in a golf tournament at Orange County National and we also heard that cousin Alex was going to be in a play the same weekend (my Uncle Rob, Aunt Caryn and Alex live in Celebration right near Disney). So we thought, why not? Let's make a weekend out of it and introduce Di to Minnie Mouse! We started preparing her, playing her It's a Small World and showing her a Minnie Mouse doll from Aunt Jo. I also spent about two full days packing. When it was just Danny and I, we'd throw clothes in an overnight bag the morning we were leaving...with a 10 month old - packing is a whole different story!

This past Friday morning, we finally got the car packed up and were on our way. I was so excited that my mom and Aunt Jo decided to join us for Di's first Disney trip! Three hours later, we checked into the Embassy Suites, ordered some Uno's pizza for dinner and got ourselves back into the car to see cousin Alex play Grandpa Joe in Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. He is such a natural! Alex is always involved in activities both in school and in the community and we finally got to see him in action.

On Saturday, Danny headed out to play golf and Uncle Robbie, Aunt Jo, Grandma Susie and I took Diana to EPCOT. She had THE TIME OF HER LIFE! We really underestimated how much she would enjoy everything! We waited in line to see the characters and she wasn't scared at all - Minnie Mouse was predictably her favorite - she recognized her right away. We also went on the Land, the Living Seas with Nemo and the River Ride in Mexico. Then Grandma Susie took her in the little kids water play area and they both got soaked!! Aunt Jo left the park after that to head back to Ft. Lauderdale and Danny joined us. Grandma Susie watched little Di while Danny and I finally went on Soarin' - something we've been wanting to do for 3 Disney trips but the wait was always too long. We had dinner in the park, and went back to the hotel and crashed! EPCOT really does stand for Every Person Comes Out Tired!

Magic Kingdom was on the schedule for Sunday. We did the stroll down Main Street and both Grandma Susie and Uncle Robbie bought her a Minnie Mouse outfit. Although Di enjoyed It's a Small World, she was more impressed by Buzz Light Year and the spinning car we were in - I think I finally have a partner in crime to ride roller coasters with me!

It was so neat to see Disney through our daughter's eyes. I remember by parents taking me on some amazing Orlando vacations and now that Danny and I have a family, I can't wait to start our own traditions. We're already looking ahead to our next trip, probably in the fall when Diana is a little older. What a great vacation!