Happy 3rd Birthday to my sweet Francesca!

On March 14th, we celebrated Francesca's third birthday. She had been anxiously anticipating the events in her honor (detailed below). We hope her birthday was special!! Francesca has become an energetic, fun and caring little girl. She loves to sing and dance (Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift are favorites). She is very smart (special thanks to her time spent with Miss Kathy) and knows her colors, numbers and alphabet. She can now even recognize most letters. She tries her best to stay out of trouble and if she finds herself there she "didn't mean to". We look forward to seeing what this year brings for her :)

Due to our crazy February, we decided to break things up a bit and have a party at the Forrest's with Cassie Lou and Kenzie also celebrating important milestones. The highlight from the festivities there was the loss of power for a couple of hours. It was also our first opportunity to meet Paityn Jay Elaine. She is a sweet baby girl and I think all of our children could easily get use to having a baby around again (hee hee!) They all loved to kiss her and touch her and, quite frankly, would have gladly brought her home with us. Despite my best efforts, she was returned to her mama at the end of the night. We had so much fun at the party. Francesca even asked when she woke up the next day if she could go back because "Aunt Donna's is sooo fun!".
The following Saturday, we celebrated with the Pisciotti's at our house. Francesca was happy to share her party with her dear friend Alysia who celebrated her 13th birthday on March 26th. One of highlights of the party was the JB cake that they both enjoyed. We also had asked guests to share special memories of Papa (Grandpa Pisciotti) as Francesca continued to ask that he be in attendance. I know someday she will very much appreciate the items given to her in this regard. Special thanks to everyone for their extra efforts here!

The February to be forgotten...

Although I would like to think it would be that easy...to just forget everything that happened during the month...it is , of course, something I will never forget. On Saturday, February 6, TJ woke up from his nap with a fever. By Sunday morning, as the fevers continued, I returned to the pediatrician's office with him (which we had visited the previous weekend as well) to learn he had an ear infection (again). They placed him on an antibiotic (again). As we progressed through the week, he didn't seem to be getting much better and his mood was terrible. He was irritable and inconsolable. On Thursday afternoon, February 11th, we returned to the pediatricians office after days of fever and crankiness. She sent us to the ER - - - and while I don't mean to cut this story short, the two weeks that followed were unimaginable for any parent. The amount of doctors and testing and unforgettable moments were surreal. We were hospitalized that evening for about a week only to return the day after we got home as a result of a stomach virus (which prevented TJ from keeping his antibiotics down). However, alas on February 25 we returned home with our little boy. He was a bit weak but ready to be a little devil again :) Very special thanks to all of our family and friends who visited, brought dinner, took care of kids, sent emails/texts, and just simply prayed for the return to good health. And to my dearest TJ, welcome home Buddy!!