Some time with family

In the middle of September we had both of our families visiting from Chicago. My mom, sister, and brother came out along with Brian's parents:) They came out to attend Olivia's 3rd Birthday party and spend time with us. We had such a great week doing all sorts of fun things! One of Olivia's favorite things to do is going to the park so we decided to make a group trip to the park down the street from our house. We also did a lot of shopping, hanging out, and just catching up with each other.

Olivia couldn't wait to get Papa outside to play some baseball!!

Aunt Kate's blue sunglasses were a big hit with Brookie.

Olivia turns 3!!!!

On September 7th we celebrated Olivia's 3rd Birthday!! She is growing up so fast!! We can't believe it has been three years since we were driving to the hospital while I was having contractions thinking they were going to send us home because it was a month before my due date. Instead, Olivia Joy Giaretta entered the world @ 5:56pm that evening!! I remember holding her for the first time and being so excited that God chose me to be her mother. It was one of the best moments of my life:-) She is becoming so independent and wanting to do everything "all by myself" as she puts it. She has come a long way from being that tiny little 4Lb 13Oz peanut:)

Blowing out her Birthday candle @ dinner....

and she really enjoyed her dessert!

Opening up her Birthday gifts.

We bought her a tea set for her Birthday because one of her favorite things to do is have a tea party.

We always buy her a book for her Birthday & this year it was "Fancy Nancy" because we rented it from the library months ago and she always talks about how much she loved reading it and reciting parts of it that she remembers!

Brooklyn Pulls Up!

Wow!! Brooklyn just can't wait to catch up to her big sister. She pulled herself up to the standing position all by herself in her playpen a couple weeks ago. Ever since she learned how to pull herself up she has been walking around holding onto the furniture and never sits still!!

6 years and many miles

We have been busy lately and I have sooooo much to blog about! In the meantime, today is a special day....6 years ago today is when Brian started his duty as a United States Marine!! Time Flies!! I can't believe it has already been six years since the day Brian's parents and I drove him to the recruiter's office where we dropped him off, said our good-byes, and he left for boot camp. He went to boot camp in San Diego, California @ MCRD for three long months!! The only contact we had with him was through letters and he was able to make a brief phone call on Thanksgiving Day! Brian wrote me a letter everyday he was able to while at boot camp and I cherish those letters. I can't wait to share them with my children when they are grown:) There is something so romantic about writing letters especially when you are miles and miles apart. In the past, letters were the only way military couples could communicate and know of their husband's well-being which also makes me feel old-fashioned, which I love!!

I was away at college when Brian went through boot camp. I remember going to the mailbox and praying that I would get a letter that day and being overwhelmed with joy when one or two or even three would arrive. As they say, distance makes the heart grow fonder...and boy did I miss Brian when he was away at boot camp. Although, little did I know that was only the beginning of the many months we would spend missing one another through all of the training and deployments.

I am so proud of you Brian!! Congratulations on 6 years of your continued honor, courage, & commitment!!

Family Vacation

A few weeks ago we went on our first family vacation!! We had a wonderful time and I already look forward to our next one. It was nice to get away for a week and not have to think about anything but enjoying our time together. Brian planned the whole trip and surprised me with the idea one night. We drove up the PCH to Malibu, which is the more scenic route and it took us around 4 hours to get there. It was the most beautiful drive along the coast the entire way!! After arriving in Malibu, we checked into our hotel and headed straight for the beach. It was Brooklyn's first time in the ocean (considering the summer weather didn't arrive until late this year) and I am sorry to say she did not enjoy the cold water at all!!

Then after our stay in Malibu, we headed to Anaheim and went to Disneyland. We stayed in a hotel right outside the park. On our first night we enjoyed swimming at the hotel and going to Downtown Disney. The next day we spent the entire day at Disneyland and the girls had the best time!!

After Disney, we drove home and continued our family fun by spending the following day in Carlsbad and then ending the week with a relaxing day at home watching movies and ordering pizza!! Brian did a great job at planning every detail of our family vacation. We had a lot of fun and made many happy memories :-)

Brooklyn on the move

I have to say in my opinion it is definitely true that the second child seems to do things more quickly than the first. Brooklyn already started crawling!! While we were in Chicago the first weekend of August, Brooklyn decided to sit up on her own and then in the same day she started crawling :-) I couldn't believe it!! Although I was bummed that Brian and Olivia weren't there to witness it, I was so excited for her.


I took this video of Brooklyn when we got home from Chicago.