School video

I'm not sure if this will work or not but below is a link to a video from Luciana's school where she is featured reading a book review she wrote.  She does such a great job I had to share!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6Xy3aQoezw

The news is in....

We found out the sex of our new little one due in September!  The kids reactions were mixed...

In The Blink Of An Eye

Dean will turn one year old tomorrow.  It seams like just yesterday Mike and I were in the hospital excitedly waiting the arrival of our little man.  We had no way to predict the amount of joy Dean would bring to us daily.  That our lives, once again, would be changed forever.  We couldn't imagine what a happy baby he would be, how his infectious laugh would fill our house constantly or how his extremely sensitive gag-reflex would prove to make meal time so difficult.  How he lights up at the sight of Mike and I and especially at his big sister.  We also had no way of knowing he would be born with club foot causing him a heartbreaking rough few months to his life.  But Dean has proven to be stronger and braver than his mom and has taken most of the pokes, prods, casts, surgery and braces this past year in stride.  His braces are very uncomfortable which cause him to still not sleep through the night but, as parents, it's a very small price to pay for the miracle of modern medicine to give him the ability to walk.  In fact, his legs are so strong due to the braces he wears at night, he's been cruising with the furniture for quite some time.  He walks all over the house with his push toys and has even started to let go of the furniture to "walk" (fall gracefully) towards me, which I've been told is fairly early for a boy.
He also likes to do whatever we tell him not to do so I have a feeling that in a few months, our entire home will be on baby lock down!

Although it seems like only yesterday we were in that hospital room, it feels like he's always been in our lives.

I can't imagine life without him.

Dean's 1st Haircut

Dean got his first haircut a few nights ago. It was a little sad but very much needed. None of his hair really fell out since birth and he just kept getting more and more! The top has stayed about the same but the sides and the back were growing out of control which is exactly how Mike's hair grows. We used the clippers and he did fantastic! We put a towel down on the counter in the kids bathroom, Dean sat on the towel and Mike held him while I cut his hair. Luciana was in charge of keeping Dean entertained and looking forward which isn't to hard for her since he loves watching his big sis!

Here are the before and after shots...



Before - Looking a little Shaggy




And after - SO handsome!

We have scooting!!!

Last week Dean started to scoot a little! And every time, he's encouraged on by his cheering section led by Luciana.
He's only 6 months old so I'm a little in shock about this. I know boys usually do the physical stuff faster than girls do but still - Luciana didn't crawl until she was 9 months old and really only scooted for the first time shortly before that. I'm not sure if he'll start crawling soon or not but I definitely know I'm NOT ready for him to be mobile yet! :)

We took Luciana to Sesame Street Live again this year to rave reviews!



Dean is such a happy baby.


And getting so big!



They love to "play" together. Usually it's Luciana showing Dean all of his toys - so cute!
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Updates Galore

Lot of updates - First, Dean no longer has to wear his brace during the day!! We're so happy about that and so is he. He only has to wear it at night now and has been doing it for about a month. It's been so great to watch him with this new found freedom. The weight of the brace has made is legs really strong and his favorite thing to do is stand up (with us holding him up of course) but he actually stands and hold up all of his weight! He's on a pretty good schedule at night now and is basically sleeping through the night unless his brace comes loose which is then painful on his foot or if he gets his leg stuck against the crib rails. He usually ends up going to bed just before Luciana at about 7 or so and sleeps until about 6:00 am (sometimes eating and then falling back asleep!). Most mornings we can hear him wake up and he's just talking to himself. Then, when he sees us, he starts cracking up - so cute!

We had a great trip over MLK Day to visit family in MD, except for the fact that Luciana came down with Shingles while we were there (nothing says "Family Fun" like a trip to the urgent care...) It was the first time on a plane for both kids and first family trip since Dean was born. They both did fantastic. Dean slept for most of the plane ride and even though I brought a TON of stuff for Luciana to do, she didn't need any of it. She was so excited to be on the plane! She just sat and looked around most of the time. While we were taxiing after we landed in MD she started singing a concert of songs to which those sitting near us started clapping for after each one. One man even asked how much the cover charge was. She's such a ham!

They're both doing great at their new school and Mike and I like it MUCH better then the last place they were at for a few weeks right after I went back to work. Their school has in-room cameras too so we can go online and see them at anytime which is great but I'm becoming less and less productive at work... :)

I'm hoping to do updates more often but don't hold your breath!!! :)
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Surgery is over!!!!

Yesterday was the day I had been dreading since Dean was born and now it has finally passed. He had surgery to sever his achilles tendon (so that it will grow back longer than what he was born with). We were very nervous about the surgery, especially the fact that he had to be put out completely with anesthesia, but everything went really well. His surgery was at 8:00 am and we were back home by 11:30.

This is the last part of the "casting" phase. He's in a new cast now while he heals and in three weeks from today - No more casts!!! He will then start the second half of his treatment which is the brace but we'll finally be able to give him regular baths and, most importantly, he'll be able to move his leg and bend his knee.

The Great Weight Debate

So we have no idea how much Dean really weighs due to his cast. He was born at 6lb, 10oz (no cast) and then was 6lb, 8oz when we left the hospital, but that was including the weight of his first cast. At his first Dr. visit the following Monday, he weighed 6lb, 13oz with the same cast on but then shot up to 8lb, 1oz the following week but that was with a new, bigger cast. He's eating a ton so I know he's gaining weight but his actual weight is still a mystery. My guess is about 7.5lbs...

Luciana we know for sure weighs 28lbs because she weighs herself every morning on what she calls "The Beeping" - our scale beeps when you use it. She always proudly tells us that it says "28 Pound Pounds".

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He's here!!!

Dean Michael Catalano was born on August 17th at 9:24am. He was 19.5 inches long and weighed 6 pounds, 10 ounces.
Everything with labor and delivery went really well. I started having contractions around 10:00pm on the 16th that were progressively getting stronger. Mike and I went to the hospital around 12:30 (we didn't want to wait too long since our new house is a lot further away from the hospital). Once we got there, everything went pretty quick. So quick at the end in fact, I made the nurse really nervous - I needed to push and there was no doctor in the room yet! My doctor made it and in a few pushes, Dean was here.

One thing we weren't prepared for was that Dean was born with a clubfoot. This is a birth defect that takes several years of treatment to correct. The good news is that since it's not too rare (about 1/1000 kids are born with it) the treatment is fairly proven and he should be just like the other kids his age once it's corrected. The bad news is that the treatment is not easy... He's currently in a full leg cast and gets it removed and a new one put on every week (Thursdays for Dean). These started the day after he was born and the doctor thinks he'll need to have about two more after the one he currently has on. After that, he'll have to have surgery where they'll be severing his achilles tendon which apparently will grow back longer (a three week healing process in a cast). After the surgery, he'll need to wear braces on his feet 23 hours a day for about 3 months. Then, the time in the brace will slowly decrease to by the time he's one, he should only be wearing them while he sleeps. He'll need to continue to wear them while he sleeps until he's four years old.
The whole thing has been very overwhelming for Mike and I and gives us an additional set of worries for our little man (as if I don't worry enough about him and Luciana as it is...). His current cast is very heavy and bothers him a lot. It breaks our heart to see him in pain, especially knowing that this is just the beginning of a long road for him. I'll try to update as I can so everyone is aware of his next steps, especially his surgery which I have a hard time even thinking about. Hopefully writing about it will make it easier to go through...

Always makes us laugh

I can't really help it that I think Luciana is the funniest person I know - She's just like me so we have the same sense of humor. However, here's a perfect example of how funny she is and a glimpse into what our lives are like right now...

Luciana's been staying up at night lately until about 9:30. She's in her bed, not crying, but wide awake singing songs, playing with her stuffed animals, moving her pillow around, jumping on the bed, etc. Last night she was again wide awake at bed time. Mike and I were in the living room and here's how the night went:


Me: "Luciana, it's time to lay down and go to sleep"
Luciana: "Mommy?"
Me: "Yes, it's Mommy. Now lay down and go to sleep"

More singing and jumping noises from her room


Mike: "Luciana, you need to go to sleep"
Luciana: "I think that was Daddy" (spoken to her stuffed animals)
Luciana: "Is that you out there talking to me Daddy"
Mike (while we're trying not to laugh): "Yes, it's Daddy, now lay down"

Silence... and then...

Luciana: "I need a tissue"...silence..."I NEED A TISSUE"...silence..."AHH-CHOO!!!" (faking a sneeze by actually saying ahh-choo) "I NEED A TISSUE"

Now - How can you not laugh at that!!

Mini family vaca

This past weekend, our friend Paul got married in Chicago. Being that I'm over 5 months prego and really hated the idea of not seeing Luciana all weekend, I was thinking of not going. But then, I had a brilliant idea! We could go for a long weekend to make a little vacation out of it and bring my parents along to watch Luciana on the night of the wedding. So, that's exactly what we did! We drove out on Thursday (my parents took the train) and came back on Sunday. We did all sorts of family Chicago things - whenever Mike and I have gone there in the past it was mostly to go to bars/clubs and nice dinners. This was the first time we did family type stuff and we had a blast! Luciana loved everything too and was a trooper, like always, with the drive, the time change and the change to her normal routine.
We went to the Children's Museum, the Shedd Aquarium, the Navy Pier and of course some shopping on Michigan avenue. She especially LOVED the Disney store. Here are some pics from the trip - and check out the video page to see some fishing at the Children's Museum :)


Showing her friend Squeaks the view!



Taking a reading break at the Children's Museum


Playing in a tunnel at the Children's Museum


Being a princess at the Disney Store


Loving every second!!!


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BIG NEWS!!!!!

Mike and I are going to be growing our family and Luciana is going to be a big sister!! I'm due on August 19th and on Tuesday we found out we'll be having a little boy! We're SO excited. Luciana has been practicing being a big sister already by reading big sister books (thanks Nichole), taking care of her baby dolls and patting my growing belly while saying "Hi Brother". I'm assuming she'll have a bit of an adjustment period once he gets here but after that, I think she's going to make a great big sister!

Here's his most recent picture, more to come...



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Lots of catching up to do...

The person that writes this blog is such a slacker!!

SO many updates have happened since my last update - Halloween (she was a bunny), Thanksgiving, Christmas... Luciana is still talking non-stop and now we're calling her the singing bush because she's also singing non-stop (sometimes while she's talking). She loves singing the ABC song, which she knows all of, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, The Farmer in the Dell, and about 30 others. She loves to read books to Mike and I at the same time we're reading to her and then yell TRADE and we trade books and start all over again. She's really into coloring, stickers and Play-Doh right now too.

Everyday she makes us laugh and smile and we can't believe how lucky we are to have her.



A shopping diva in one of her Christmas dresses



Playing hide-and-seek... Can you find her??


Here she is!!


She loves her Tinkerbell sunglasses (and making funny faces)!!
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15 month checkup

Luciana just had her 15 month check up and everything went great (except for her shots which ended in crocodile tears for her and really having to try hard to hold mine back this time). Her doctor said she was very impressed with her level of speech (surprise, surprise) and that she's developing everything else just perfectly! Now that she's running around so much she's not so chubby anymore :( She's in the 50th percentile for weight but she's still in the 90th percentile for height, I'm not sure where that's coming from.

I also found out that she LOVES exam table paper. Especially being able to dance on it - which was really like running in place on it while I held her up. I wish I had that on video, maybe next time.

She's obsessed with books right now and wants one read to her at all times. Once you've finished one (or she's finished it by closing it while you're still reading) she runs to her bookshelf to grab another one. She has about 100 books and we read all of them but her favorites are Hop-On-Pop (which she calls hopop), I love you Stinky Face (she calls it mama mama because that's what the boy in the story says) and a pop-up book about rescue vehiles that she calls weeooo-weeooo (that's my attempt at spelling out a siren noise).

Now we're getting ready for Halloween and Christmas is right around the corner - I can't wait!!

1 Year photos

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Summer Vacations

We took two family vacations to Ludington, MI this year. One with the Catalano's and one with the Eberhardt's. Both were great! In July we went with my family up to our family cabin where we had camp fires, went down to the river, saw lots of deer (and two porcupines!) and went to Lake Michigan where Luciana was due for a nap and slept with Mike in her tent the whole time. Then, in August, we stayed at a house that Mike's parents friends own where we hung out with the little ones (Luciana and her cousins) and spent a ton of time at Lake Michigan where we confirmed our thoughts about Luciana being a fish. She LOVED being in the water and playing water games. Hopefully we'll be able to go back up one more time before the summer's over...




Hanging out at the cabin


Lounging in the airplane swing... I hope this isn't how she'll drive in 15 years



Mom looks away for ONE minute!


Sleeping in the tent with Daddy at Lake MI
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