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

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

September Snapshots

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....

Goodbye August...Hello September

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!

Wrapping up year one...

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!

Summer Celebrations

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)

28 feels a lot closer to 30 than 27!

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)