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....

Labor Day weekend

Every now and then a long weekend comes along that leaves you feeling productive, relaxed and revived all at the same time. Danny, Di and I were really looking forward to spending the holiday weekend doing the things we love, with the people we love.

Saturday morning started with Danny whipping up some delicious crepe-pancakes, which were just these scrumptious little silver dollar pancakes that tasted like crepes - YUM! We then headed to Deerfield Beach to splash in the morning waves and get Diana's energy out! I think the water was a little choppier than normal from all the tropical activity out there in the Atlantic, but our little lady didn't seem to mind a bit! She splashed with her Dad and they jumped over every wave. She's also started to kick her feet, which is the beginning of learning how to swim I guess. And she now gets up from playing in the sand and runs straight into the water - with mom or dad frantically chasing behind her! We have a little beach bum on our hands for sure - and we plan to keep taking her on beach outings as long as the 90 degree weather keeps up here in SoFla.


We got back from the beach around lunchtime and Di spent most of the afternoon in her new playhouse filled with balls (a birthday gift from cousin Roman that we just got around to setting up).
Then Nonna Linda and Grandpa Gary took Diana for a few hours in the evening while Danny and I got some errands done. Every time Nonna babysits Di comes back with a new trick! She just taught her to put her hands out and shrug her shoulders when we say "where's grandpa?" or "where's the doggie?" Too cute!


Danny snuck out to play golf with his dad early Sunday morning and Aunt Jo came to hang with Diana and I. We watched ducks out back in the lake and then played in Diana's newly redecorated toy area (a big thanks to Grandma Susie for helping us with this project last week).
Sunday night was Vivie's wedding at the Biltmore in Coral Gables. Vivie is like a little sister to me and I've known her since high school, so it was really neat to watch her walk down the aisle. She and Flavio are an adorable couple and it was a beautiful night. Danny and I don't get dressed up to go out much these days so that was a special treat for us too!

Monday was about getting things done around the house: a trip to Home Depot and remulching the garden, vacuuming and cleaning. Around 3pm our families came over for a BBQ. Danny and I have used our grill maybe 4 times since we got it for Christmas and we decided Labor Day would be the perfect time to put it to good use! So nice to have both of our families over to unwind and enjoy the last weekend of summer. It was even more special because my Grandpa Rubio and Aunt Dianita came up from Miami to join us - they hadn't seen Di in a couple months and couldn't believe how much she had grown.


A great weekend and a great way to end the summer!




Click here to see all of our Labor Day pics.

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!

Soaking up summer

The weeks surrounding Diana's 1st birthday in July got a little crazy as we prepared for her big bash. Now that the thank you notes have been sent out, Di's one year photos have been taken (and hung up in our house) and we've absorbed the fact that our little girl is really a year old already, we've turned our attention to just enjoying the rest of summer. Working and studying aside, we've had good times at the beach, at our weekly My Gym class and with family & friends.

Here are some of the pics!

My Gym - Summer 2010

Muzzarelli Dinner - August 2010

More soon!

Goodbye Weston

This August marks a big change in the lives of my mom, stepdad and little brother. After almost 25 years living in Weston, they're packing up and moving to a condo near Fort Lauderdale beach this Friday morning.

While I have some reservations about watching them leave the house I've lived in (give or take a few college years) from the time I was 5 to the time I was almost 23, it's time for them to move on. My little brother Brandon is not so little anymore - he's beginning 10th grade in a few weeks and is getting ready to drive - in 3 short years he'll be off to college and starting his own life. And my parents are ready to downsize - they no longer need a two story house with a pool and a huge living room.

This house has been such a big part of my life - even though I haven't lived there for almost 5 years, it will always be home. It's the place where I swam with my best friend and neighbor Laurie every day during our elementary school summers, where we set up Brandon's nursery before he was born, where we had Thanksgivings and Passovers, where I took pictures before homecoming dances, where we held my high school and college graduation parties and more recently, my baby shower and Diana's first birthday party just a few weekends ago. Her party was a wonderful way to end so many years of memories.

I'll miss going over there to swim and eat Sunday night dinners and I'll miss Weston with its palm tree lined streets and little town center. But it's time to move on and make new memories.

Here are a few pics we took over the weekend when we went down to say goodbye to my childhood home on 1075 Capistrano.

Diana's one year pictures

Our little lady at a year old!

Thanks to Tony Ozegovich of TRMV Photo for the beautiful pictures.

We did it! Di's first birthday party was a success!

After lots of anticipation, Di's big day finally arrived! We celebrated her actual birthday Friday evening with pizza (her favorite!) and a big slice of yellow cake with chocolate frosting.

Saturday was party time! We had all of our close family and friends over to my parents' house in Weston to celebrate (minus a few people that were on summer vacations). Abby Caddaby, Elmo and the whole Sesame Street gang were on the plates, napkins, centerpieces and banners. Balloons were everywhere! Danny took the day off last Friday to help set up and thanks to my Grandma (Gigi), Aunt Jo, Mom, Ron and Brandon, the house looked amazing!

Diana definitely knew it was her birthday - she loves hamming it up and was shaking maracas, waving at everyone and just checking out the whole scene.
Check out Di shaking the maracas...and more maracas!

The kids ate at a special table and then everyone went into the pool. The grownups enjoyed a six foot La Spada's sub and some delicious salads and sides and chatted in the air condition : ) We ended the afternoon with a HUGE Elmo birthday cake - Nonna Linda was in charge of dessert and even got Diana her own mini cake to dig into. Her eyes lit up while everyone sang Happy Birthday - we've been singing it to her for two months now so she knew the song well. She stuck her tiny fingers right into the cake, got frosting everywhere (including Mom's shirt) and clapped her hands as everyone watched her make a total mess.
Watch the cake videos!
Cake Time
Cake Time2

I'd say the day was a success! It was a big milestone not only for Diana, but for Danny and me too. We made it through thick and thin during the first year of her life, and I think we're doing a pretty good job as first time parents. We really couldn't ask for a more sweet, spirited, beautiful, smart and energetic little girl! We can't wait to dive into year two!

Click here to visit the full picture gallery of her 1st birthday.