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La Famiglia Itri

Friday, December 12, 2014

4 Months

Nick is 4 months old today!  Here are some things about him:

Lights up the room with his smile. Likes to chew on his hands. Binky will soothe him. But doesn't use the Binky all the time. Loves his mommy. Scared of his sister. Wearing size 3 to 6 month clothes. Wearing size 3 diapers. Starting to make baby sounds. Sleeps well most nights. Loves to scratch mommy's skin. Hates driving in the car. Really, really hates driving in the car. Doesn't mind the car seat but hates driving in the car. Is interested in watching the TV. If mommy is in eyesight when he wakes up from sleeping it makes his day. Loves kissing sounds. Likes going outside. Still loves to be swaddled. Starting to grab and hold things. Is the most handsome boy I know.




Wednesday, December 03, 2014

Christmas Letter

The Year of 2014
La Famiglia Itri

-Todd-
Last Christmas break was marked by amazing good fortune- Todd was offered a job on an intensive care unit. This was big because he needed this type of experience in order to even apply for his graduate school of choice. He wants to be a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. That would mean he does a lot of the same things anesthesiologists do.  The job came as a pleasant surprise since he had only been working as a nurse for six months. Often ICU employers are looking for more experienced nurses. We truly feel grateful for this blessing!

Interestingly, Todd has spent the year trying to decide if CRNA is actually what he wants to do. He has taken initiative to chat with some of his friends from nursing school about the type of work they do. He has researched other nursing professions while still looking into what he will need to apply to CRNA schools. As of now it seems he has circled around and landed right back to the original plan. If he is able to get into a school his first time applying, we will be moving out near Philadelphia in the Fall of 2016. There are at least six schools he can apply to back there, and it’s the only place he will apply. I guess a decade in Utah is more than enough for him- he’s ready to be home!

-Megan-
On Christmas Day last year we sure had an amazing Christmas miracle- we found out that I was pregnant! It truly was a miracle as we had been enduring negative pregnancy tests for almost two years. During that time I had a lot of time to reflect on my own self and enjoy raising Lila as an only child. But this year, I got to experience the joy of preparing for and bringing a beautiful new baby into the world. And he sure is beautiful.

This was also my second year serving as the Primary President in my local church unit. That means I have been responsible for the children’s program. This includes Sunday School each week, activities a few times a year, cub scouting, ensuring we have enough teachers and other leaders to support the programs, and other responsibilities. It takes up a lot of time but is also very rewarding. It has been extra tough trying to get everything done while pregnant and taking care of a newborn, but I always think it’s worth it.

The other fun thing I have started this year is working again. Rather than considering it a job, I think of it more as a hobby. I don’t have any set hours; I am just there for the other nurses in the office to ask for help if they need a day off. It has been so nice to be able to utilize my nursing skills while still considering myself a stay-at-home mom. This is what I consider to be the best of both worlds.

-Lila-
This little princess continues to grow and amaze us. She has loved her baby brother from the start (meaning she would climb all over my tummy saying how much she loved her new baby before I was even showing). The only time I think she was really upset was at the gender ultrasound when she found out he would be a baby boy and not a baby girl. She was extremely upset. But she got used the idea. In fact, just a few weeks ago in her 3-year-old way she reminded me that she didn’t used to want a brother, but now she wants Nick to be a boy. But of course, she is still waiting for me to grow another baby in my tummy so she can have a little sister.

She also got to start pre-school this fall. She has loved it and does a great job. It has also helped me so that I am more motivated in helping her learn her alphabet. I am so impressed in how much better her handwriting is getting already. She loves going and almost every night asks “is tomorrow school day?”

At home, Lila has really developed a relationship with her best friend, Kayla Ho.  They are old enough now that they can get together to play and it doesn’t really mean the adults have to babysit them. They just play together and have a grand time. They are both girlie girls and I have absolutely adored watching them imagine and play together.

-Nick-
Our precious angel boy came to us on August 12. He really wanted to be nice to mommy and I didn’t even have to push during my delivery! Yay for great babies and great doctors to help them along. For the first month he virtually never cried, and I couldn’t have appreciated it more. I had time to heal and sleep and recuperate. Since then he has become more of a “normal” baby in crying and needing attention but his smiles make it all worth it. He is growing so fast and brings so much happiness to our home.

One of the special things about Nick is his name. Todd’s dad Nicholas passed away last year, only a few months before we found out we were expecting. We decided to name our boy in tribute to his grandpa. We debated between naming him Nicholas or just Nick. That is a long story all its own. In the end, he was named for both of his grandfathers with an official name of Nick Daniel Itri. My favorite nick-name for him is “Nicky Pie” because that is what some of grandpa’s family and close friends would call him.

-Merry Christmas-

We want to acknowledge how blessed our family is. We have been given so much and are so grateful. But no matter how much or how little we have in this life, we will always have room in our hearts to feel gratitude for our Savior. It is only because of His life and atonement that we are able to feel as much peace, do as much good, and improve as much from our mistakes as we do. We hope to keep that in our hearts this holiday season, and hope you can, too.

Friday, November 28, 2014

Halloweeeen!

Well, Halloween this year was mostly great. Lila's best friend Kayla came over to play in the morning, and I sure had some of the prettiest princesses prancing around my place. They traded shoes for a while mostly because Lila is obsessed with Kayla's Elsa shoes (But in case you were wondering, Kayla actually went as Cinderella. The blue shoes just happened to go with the outfit). Lila was Sophia the First. They were simply adorable.








Princess Sophia and my little Jack-O-Lantern



We ate KFC for dinner, which, by the way is one of my favorite traditions of any holiday though I'm not sure why. Nikenzie took Lila out trick-or-treating so I could hand out candy at my house, which turned out to not really be necessary. I only handed out candy to three groups of people. Later I even left the bucket outside and no one stole all the candy. I was shocked. I guess no one ever comes around our neighborhood. But I did get a chance to take a few pictures of the babe while the others were out.







Then we all went out together. The bummer of the day was that Todd had to work, but he met up with us when he was done and caught the last 20 minutes of trick-or-treating. Note the amazingness of my 16 year old sister who chose to go trick-or-treating with us instead of hanging out with her friends. I'm not sure Lila would have really gotten to do much without Nikenzie since I didn't have Todd and Nick of course needed to be carried around. Thanks Kenzie!!!!!!

Lila brought in an amazing haul. In addition to the hot chocolate on one porch and scones on another,  almost everything in her pumpkin was chocolate, with just about half M&Ms. I am betting that whenever she got to pick her own treats that's what she picked. She does like her M&Ms!






One of the cute things I want to record for memories is that Lila kept getting flustered that people were asking her if she was Sophia. She would respond "no, I'm just dressed up!" Sometimes she would take it pretty well, and others she would get a serious pout going on. She always either corrected them by telling them she was just lila or that she was dressed up as Sophia. But she wouldn't let anyone think she might actually be the cartoon princess. Anyway, by the end of the night she was totally beat. I love the dried hot chocolate on her chin. Love this girl.



Sunday, November 23, 2014

Lila Lately

So this was a while ago but I thought it was so cute I need to write it down so I never forget. A few days before our ward fall festival I told Lila we were going to eat dinner, play, and trick or treat at the party. She asked me what we were going to eat and I told her chili. The day before we were talking about it again, and Lila said "and we are going to eat cold!" I was really confused for a minute until I realized that she has never eaten chili, so instead had heard me say chilly.

Another silly thing she just started doing is talking about Utah as if it were a being with feelings. She says she doesn't want to go to Philadelphia because Utah will miss her. She tells me she will take care of Utah with her husband when Todd and I am in Philadelphia. And she has even started associating Utah with the wall so she can kiss Utah and hug Utah. 

Also, she calls Bandaids bandages.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

UVU Got Bowling!

We were excited to find out that UVU now has a bowling alley. We were even more excited to find out that the first Friday of every month bowling is only $1 with $1 shoe rental. And since I have my own shoes, it only cost $8 for the whole family to bowl two games! Lila was excited because it is the first time she got to wear bowling shoes. It was also sweet because when we were done with our two games, we decided to do one more. When we went to ask for another game we found out the alley was rented out only 15 minutes later. So they gave us free bowling until we had to leave. Todd and I got in one more game each and Lila didn't throw a fit about not being included. For all three games both Todd and I bowled over 100! Todd got the high game at 154. We like bowling!





Monday Night Football

Family night this week included an awesome Eagles game. Everyone has more fun when the Eagles win, especially because daddy is happy! Plus, they won 45-21. Even better!







Lila was sad that she didn't have an Eagles shirt, but then proceeded to wear her UVU shirt to bed on Monday night and Tuesday night, and refused to take it off all day Wednesday. She's such a cutie.


Three Months

Today my little man is three months old! And boy has he changed. Pretty much everyone who sees him comments on how big he's gotten. And even I feel like he is growing a little abnormally fast. He seems a lot bigger than his cousin who is six weeks older than him. A baby girl in the ward was born the very same day, and when his mom saw that he wears size two diapers, she said her little girl wasn't even close to fitting into them. Here are a few bits about him:

Not that perfect, quiet baby anymore. Starting to drool a lot. Blows bubbles when he gets hungry. Has added a shriek to his cry. Goes from screaming to giggling back to screaming in less than a minute. Likes his mommy. Doesn't seem to be as afraid of Lila anymore. We hope this is simply because she doesn't always smother or smash him when she is near him. Still only takes his binky when he feels like it. Wants mom and dad to stand when they hold him. Has really helped mommy out by taking a bottle the few times she's worked. Loves looking in the mirror mounted on his swing. Gets even more excited when we turn the mobile on and he can watch the little animals spin around his face. Not sleeping as well at night. Still loves to be swaddled. Has the cutest giggle and once even laughed. Starting to stretch size three month clothes. Wears size 2 diapers. Hates driving. Makes us happy.








Monday, October 27, 2014

Almost Missed It

Tummy time while mommy plays the harp. I almost missed it, but out of the corner of my eye, Nick took matters into his own hands and ended tummy time all by himself. Here he is after his first successful flip.



Naturally, I put him back on his tummy to observe. He laid there with his head up, smiling at me. As I reached to get the camera back out for another shot, he rolled again! So I put him on his tummy yet again, got a few pics and took a video. So, you can all witness roll number three in Nick's life. Hooray for Nick!




For the record, Todd was watching the Cowboys Redskins game. I tried to call to him to come see but he didn't hear me. It is hard to hear things when you are involved in something else. So then I brought the boy downstairs and put him on his tummy in front of the TV. I guess he didn't want to perform in front of a distracted audience. He cried for a minute, then smiled at me when I got down in front of him. Then he just put his head down and sucked on his fist. No more rolling for tonight I guess.

Best Day Ever (said thick with sarcasm)

My wonderful day on Friday:

This is a picture of me after I almost burned my face off lighting our grill. The lighting in the pic is bad but you can see some charred hairs around my face. I also had some lovely stubble on my arms, and char and soot in my nose. The smell didn't go away for three days. I'm glad I wasn't disfigured for life.


I also woke up to discover I left the chicken for dinner out all night. Had to find something else for dinner.

Had an appointment to get our furnace cleaned. Found out we needed a new furnace. It was installed today. Here it is. 


Went outside to pack up our stroller for a family outing the next day. It had been stolen right off our porch. Here is where it usually is.



Luckily, I did get a chance to go on a brief date with Todd, and had a nice conversation with my mom that left me feeling very blessed. I'm glad nothing happened that will have eternal consequences. Then I got to wake up the next day and go to Lagoon, courtesy of my parents. At least that day is behind me. Still lots of good things to look forward to.

Sunday, October 12, 2014

2 Months

I didn't even realize Nick was two months old today until dinnertime. In fact, a few people at church asked me how old he is and I told them "almost two months." Interesting how time can seem to go so slowly, but then you suddenly realize how fast it's flown by. I think my little man looked pretty schnazzy in his tie at church. He was able to keep up his sharp appearance until I was ready to put him in his jammies- then he promptly pooped up his back and all over his outfit. Thanks for waiting until the end of the day, bud.

At two months Nick:

Still eats about every 3 hours. Sleeps well most nights. Is more fussy, but still a good baby. Loves being swaddled. Still takes the binky, but other times gets mad when you try to give it to him. Can fit into some of his newborn clothes, and some 0-3 month clothes are way too big. But most of the time the 0-3 works great. Graduated to size 2 diapers yesterday. Has the most perfect, adorable smile. Starting to coo and giggle when we make faces at him. At least once a day makes mommy's cheeks hurt from mutual smiling at each other. Doesn't like driving. It might be in my head, but I think he recognizes and likes mommy. Likes going outside. Some days sleeps most of the day, and others is awake more than half of it. Still likes baths. Loves his swing.

Lila is getting more used to him. She certainly loves him. Sometimes she gets a little jealous. About a week ago I was playing with him and telling him how much I love him, and Lila asked me if I loved him more than I love her. It was sad. I have to be careful when she is around to say how cute both my kids are and how much I love them both. Then this morning Nick was crying while I was trying to do Lila's hair for church, and I told him he needed to relax because mommy needed to take care of Lila and he would have to wait. Lila said "Mommy, don't be mean to Nicky!" and then told me I should help him calm down before doing her hair. I thought it was interesting because one of the reasons I was doing it was to show her that he isn't always the one who gets the attention. She is such an amazing big sister.











 And of course, his beautiful sister.