How is it that we are already into 2010? Or that it is already halfway through February? Or that Ilaria is almost 2 months old and no post on the blog yet?!?!? As a wise woman (Krissy's mom :-) ) warned us prior to Ilaria..."If you think time goes fast now, wait till you have kids." We are certainly understanding this more and more!
How do we summarize the past two months? For starters, as many of you already know, Ilaria graced us with her presence on December 23rd at 10:53pm, weighing in at 7lbs even and 20 3/4 inches. Sparing the details, the delivery went really well and Gabe was a wonderful labor partner! We could not have asked for a better Christmas present as we arrived home with our bundle of joy on Christmas Day.
Fortunately, we got to spend the first few weeks as a family of three and adjusting to parenthood - Ilaria adjusting to the world! She continues to grow and really takes our breath away on a daily basis.
Ilaria loves to be held and we love to be the recipients of her cuddling. As you can see in the photo above - she loves her daddy and her daddy loves his little girl. We have so much love to give this little girl it is unbelievable!
When Ilaria was 3 weeks old her Auntie Karen and cousin Stephanie came for a visit. It was so nice to have them here! Stephanie turned 21 on January 6th, the week before they arrived, so we got to celebrate with her. Gabe took Stephanie to our favorite sushi place in Fort Collins - Nimo's. Since Krissy did not have sushi while pregnant, Gabe had not gone in several months and was so glad that Stephanie was willing to join him and try some new sushi. Krissy, Karen and Stephanie later went to The Chocolate Cafe for desert and indulged in some chocolate decadence! They certainly did spoil us - cooking meals, cleaning the kitchen, doing loads of laundry, holding Ilaria, playing with Ilaria, taking numerous pictures, and simply being with us during such a memorable time - we will treasure the memories from their trip for many years to come!
Stephanie, Karen, and Ilaria - the oldest and youngest of the cousins
Around 6 weeks Ilaria began sleeping through the night, found her hand to pacify herself (although she can't seem to figure out how to control this at will), began smiling and interacting with us (no it is not just a smile because of gas), and she simply loves to be held...are you sure you can't spoil a child under 6 months of age?!?! We are beginning to wonder the validity of this statement! She really enjoyes her playmat and is good at entertaining herself already. Often we have to reset the music and lights on her playmat so she can continue to play.
We could go on and on as far as Ilaria is concerned. Gabe put it well the first week, "This just feels right." Indeed it does! On January 3rd, we celebrated 12 years together since that first blind date (thanks again Jon for introducing us). We are coming up on our 9th wedding anniversary in April and time has flown! As our friend Aileen was commenting...before we know it Ilaria will be one and we will be celebrating another holiday season. In the meantime we are taking this journey into parenthood one day at a time and truly enjoying these moments as a family.
We trust that your new year is off to a great start. Love has been redefined for us this year.
With Valentine's Day just behind us, we leave you with this...
“Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning.”
