Dedicated...or not so much.

Here I thought I was going to start a blog, write every day, and things would be great. Life apparently had other plans. We go from crazy to crazier here at the Cavalcanti household- but in a good way. So, today is the highlight edition... I hope you have a few minutes. Gulp- here we go!

We have been traveling and running around for over 2 weeks. We spent a week and a half for Easter at my parents' house in Warsaw, IN. We were on the job hunt for Erick, as we would love to relocate to the mid-west ASAP. We had a wonderful time with my parents and brother & fam. We colored eggs with the kids in special aprons made by Grandma Carol, we had Easter egg hunts, we played with toys, had puppet shows, etc etc.-- Fun for everyone!

My little nephew is getting SO big at over 6 months now, and i hadn't seen him since Christmas- what a treat. He is a bruiser and is almost the same height as Hannah and only a few pounds away from her in weight. My petite little thing is tough though. She holds her own very well. In fact, she is tugging my leg and saying, "Up up! Up up! Up up!" over and over and over.

After that travel, we were home for a week and a half before heading to Gainesville for a long weekend. Sueli, my sister-in-law, graduated from UF on Friday. It was a great trip for time spent with family and celebrating, as well as some play time too. Hannah even threw her first tantrum in the mall.

No really, it was loud. Erick and Friede went into GAP, and Hannah and I were TRYING to walk that way. She wanted to walk on her own and carry the bag with 2 boxes of shoes in it (which was hilarious to watch by the way). I would not let her walk all over the mall without holding my hand (as we had not brought her stroller- dumb), so she threw herself on the floor, kicked her legs, and screamed at the top of her lungs. No tears- just loud. When she does similar at home, we ignore her- so I did the same at the mall, with gritted teeth and a fake smile plastered on my face as people stared. One lady even gave me a pity smile and said with a sigh, "I remember those days." Another came by and offered to carry something for me, implying that I should pick up my child. I smiled graciously with venom behind it and said, "Oh, that is very sweet of you, but no thank you. We just started the terrible twos early." This episode lasted a few minutes, she finally calmed down a little, and we headed to the GAP, where once in the arms of Daddy, she was quiet as a mouse and our sweet pea once more.

I wish that was the last of the drama for this trip...it's not.
We left Sunday morning, after Sueli and Michael left for the airport to go to NYC. Note that they were gone. We got about an hour away and guess who realized she forgot her phone on the charger by the door? OH, it was me. My dear husband did not want to go back for it, so he just called Sueli to have someone come pick it up. Let's just say that is not as easy as it sounds after graduation in Gainesville. I'm told it has been sent, but I'm using a different phone now because it is Wednesday-we have not seen it yet.

Now we are home and I have Hayden and Hannah down for a nap. Hayden is sleeping peacefully and Hannah is talking in her crib. Hannah's newest trick is turning in circles. About a week ago we went to the park and there was a little 2 year old who was playing with Hannah. Her favorite thing to do was twirl around til she fell down giggling. Hannah's eyes were huge while watching, and she has been practicing ever since. I need to get photos/video of this phenomenon, because it is very funny. She is getting faster every day, but she turns around- giggle, turn around- giggle, turn around- giggle...fall down- giggle some more. The one thing she loves more than that is playing outside...

EARRINGS!!!

Hannah is a big girl today! She got her ears pierced!!! We went to Coral Square mall Piercing Pagoda. She has very pretty little earrings. We chose the smallest ones, but we were told-with a smirk- they are only for cartiledge piercing. Oh well, the next size up will do. She sat with Daddy while Mommy took pictures. She was a very good girl, but she did NOT enjoy it at all. After the piercing, she came to Mommy for comfort. She forgot all about it by the time we left the mall...I think I cried as much as she did!

Happy Saturday!

Hannah and I got up early this morning (she is my alarm clock) and went down to the city of Tamarac annual garage sale. It was outside in the city center parking lot. By 7:45 it was packed with people! We did AWESOME! I'm starting to collect clothes up to 2T so when Hannah gets to those sizes I won't have to pay full price out of necessity. WELL, I ended up with several cute little outfits that came from 2 booths, and lucky for me I was early, because I took the best and nicest outfits at the whole thing! Everything is really nice brands like Children's Place and Gap. Nothing has so much as a spot, and a few things were NEVER WORN. I asked them which things were the best, and they picked them out to show me proudly. I said yes or no, and tried to be very pleasant, with Hannah waving to them and showing her snacks the whole time. When I started collecting, I said, "Now, if I get this stuff, you are going to hook me up with a great price, right?" They said, "Of course!" and they held up their end of the bargain. My pile of clothes, a toy vacuum (story in a minute), and a toy phone all for $15.
I got her the toy vacuum, which smiles sweetly and sings to her, because she is deathly afraid of my vacuum. She cries the instant it comes out, no matter what I do. I didn't even have to show her how to use the toy. She already knew! I hope this helps!
I also got myself some mini-cupcake pans, still new in the package, and 3 Baby Einstein DVDs. We came home and I put one in- she could care less. I am so glad I paid $1 per dvd.
Now she is napping peacefully and I'm able to catch up on blogging and then maybe do a little baking before taking Hannah to the park.

She's Starting Young!

So, again before noon today, we have had another first! We took Erick to work this morning and then went shopping! My brother's birthday is coming up, so...it was time! Plus it is Friday, and I felt like shopping- sue me!

We were in a particular store which I will not name for the sake of my brother and sister-in-law figuring out his gift, and I put dear Hannah in the cart. She had a lovely time playing with the keys for about half the time we were there. And by playing, I mean jingle, jingle, drop. Giggle. Pick it up mama. Jingle, jingle, drop. Giggle. Pick it up mama. Well, she tired of this game, and I can't say I was upset by that...until she decided it was time for her to walk. I thought that would quiet her (and she can be LOUD), so I put her on the floor, and placed my purse where she had previously been sitting. By the time I placed my purse where she was sitting, I looked around and did not see Hannah! She had already sprinted down 4 aisles and was turning to look at the dish towels. Not only did it freak me out that my purse was with the cart and my daughter was with the towels, but I know what she can do with towels! She walks in the kitchen at home, makes a beeline for the kitchen towels hanging on the oven door, and pulls them on the floor and rolls on them. Then she walks out in pursuit of better activities. Once I pick them up and she notices this, she does the same thing. I am not kidding. I was envisioning Hannah grabbing as many towels as possible and throwing them on the floor. Giggling as she went...Luckily, I caught her before this vision could become reality, and made it back to the cart before other patrons could take my purse. Not that it had a lot of money in it, but I really like that purse! OH, did I mention the car keys in plain sight? I digress.

So, I decided to put her between me and the cart to keep her closer, as she had no desire to hold my hand. She noticed that she could reach the bottom of the cart, and decided that it should be her job to push the cart. She proceeded to push our cart through the rest of the store and up to the checkout counter- with only a little steering from mama. WHAT? Last week shopping through racks of clothes, today pushing the cart by herself? She is getting too big, too fast, and is doing so happily. She loves this newfound independence SO MUCH that she is refusing to nap today. She is sitting in her crib protesting - rather loudly I must say- and wanting to play. I'm off to save the day!!!

Our Family Blog

Well, here it is. My attempt at a cathartic outlet for the dramatic, crazy, silly, funny and emotional things that happen to the Cavalcanti Crew as our sweet Hannah grows up, changes, and cracks us up.

Today has been nutty, and it isn't even 11am! Hannah and I are babysitting for Hayden Devine, a sweet 4 month old little girl. Hayden was chilling in her walker, sucking innocently on a teething ring, when Hannah appeared and decided that even though it is not hers and she is not teething that toy should be hers. She took it and started sucking on it. I said, "Hannah- no take from babies! Give it back!" She took one look at me, stood up, and ran the opposite direction. I took the teether, cleaned it off, and gave it back to Hayden. Hannah saw me sit down and decided she would really like to have that teether, and she would go get it. She did. She saw me, heard me say no, and again ran the other direction so I couldn't take it. I took it, cleaned it, and this time after saying, "No No, give back to baby!" I took her, sat her against the wall in her bedroom, and came back out. We proceeded to do this 4 more times. Each time I took her in her room she cried in protest, got back up and did the same thing. FINALLY the 5th time, she picked up another toy and GAVE it to the baby. I tried not to laugh.

Then, I was doing some sketching at the kitchen table of an idea I am developing...Hannah wanted to see what I was doing (of course). I sat her on my lap and kept sketching. She got so excited and really wanted to draw. SO, loving to color and draw, I got out the crayons (4 of them) and some paper and put it on the floor. Hannah LOVED it! She made a nice speckled design on the paper, her leg, the tile floor, and Mommy's white t-shirt. THEN she got an even better idea! EAT the crayons! She wondered if blue tasted the same as green, so as she took a quick bite- she is FAST!!- it looked like she ate a smurf. She cried as i took them out of her mouth and put them away...time for a nap!