One word...SICK :-(

First and foremost please continue to keep Bella's Grandpa Freckle in your prayers, as he is still battling pneumonia in the hospital.

After a long battle of sickness for Bella and I over the weekend, we finally headed to the doctor today. We both were diagnosed with severe sinus infections and Upper Resp. Infections. YUCK :-( We both are feeling pretty miserable. I have to admit being pregnant, a mom, a wife, and sick is not a great combo.

We were lucky enough to have my parents in town over the weekend, and lots of honey-do's were checked off the list before baby Frankie arrives. Daddy finally made it home Saturday morning from driving 16 hours straight from New Mexico. He had a very full weekend of SLEEP !!!

Bella and I were suppose to go to the zoo tomorrow, but unfortunately we are too sick to go. Good thing I hadn't told her yet, or that would have been a melt down.

Not a ton to report...just lots of cuddling, book reading, and loves for my sick little angel.

Have a great week !!!

and special big hugs to all my Trifilio Sisters (Nicole, Kimmy, and T)....your are the best support team anyone could ever ask for in the time of need !! I know dad appreciates it more than words can express. :-)

We LOVE water !!!

It's been a pretty uneventful week so far, and in my book that is really nice every once in a while. Bella and I have stayed pretty close to home spending some quality time together, (she has been extra clingly lately) I'm thinking she may be sensing the big change in her life. We did make a couple more successful trips to the gym, and I'm happy to report that everything is still going great in the child watch area !!! I even wrote a note to the manager because Bella's friend in the child watch is AMAZING with her.

Bella will be happy to tell you though, she has a big "ouchy" on her thumb. A couple of weeks ago her thumb somehow got slammed in the shower door. Hmmmm I wonder who is responsible for that ????(hint: not mommy) Well her nail is officially falling off, and it kept bleeding all day on Tuesday. Enough for me to call the doctor, they were thoughtful enough to tell me to save my co-pay and told me how to bandage it properly. Well...we now know Bella HATES bandaids on her thumb. She turned purple, she was screaming so hard. Needless to say we opted against the bandaid. Daddy did try again when he came home, and that was a bust. So we tried again after she fell asleep, well that little stinker woke up at 1am screaming. By the time we walked in there and checked on her. She was sound asleep with the bandage hanging on the rail of her crib ;-)

Today was the BEST !!! We were invited out to a splash pad by some great friends !!! Bella had been there before, but she was just a baby. I actually thought it may take a few minutes to warm up. NOT !! She let go of my hand said bye-bye mama, and took off running. (There is a pool attached but it is heavily gated off). She didn't check in with me again for over two hours. She LOVED running in and out of the water, chasing the other kiddos, it was truly a sight to see. I've never seen her love water so much. This place is amazing all the water either comes out of fountains or the ground. The parents can just kick back and relax and the let the kiddos run around. Of course we wrapped up our fun time headed home with Bella's golden brown tan. The best part she took a three and half hour nap for mom !!! This followed by a great evening, you just can't beat that. I did ask that her fashionista aunts not judge the swimsuit though, this was the back-up to the back-up as the first two didn't fit my little chunky monkey ;-)

You gotta love a girl who has curves...and one who loves to show that belly off !!

We were a little bit sad to hear that daddy was heading out of town tonight for a few days to New Mexico. We miss and love you !!!

"Amen"

The Trifilio family had a WONDERFUL weekend !!! Friday night we enjoyed a fabulous dinner with the Hickey family. My husband is still talking about the yummy steaks, when I have to remind him that he doesn't talk about my meals like that ;-) Bella and Bryce had way to much fun playing on his new play set. Bella did decide to impress daddy with her new found climbing skills (courtesy of her cousin Carter no doubt), she climbed all the way up the ladder to the top of the platform. She thought it was so GREAT, that she kept doing it over and over again. What happened to the days where she just sat on the floor and was perfectly content with a rattle?


Saturday daddy participated in a HUGE CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) Drill. So Bella and I tagged along with the Hickey Family for what has now become our ritual train ride at Zube park. It was no surprise that she LOVED every second of it, and we even were able to ride twice in a row. I personally think she just loves saying choo-choo !! Saturday evening Bella had the time of her life with Grandma Bird. Daddy and mom enjoyed a FABULOUS night out with our friends, and a GREAT time was had by all. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time !!! (mental note Catch Phrase and L-C-R are games I must own) We made it home after midnight, which in a preggo's book is LATE ;-). Another BIG THANK YOU to Grandma Bird for babysitting. By the looks of the playroom, Bella and grandma played with every toy and read every book ;-) Reason number one that Bella slept in until 8am this morning and woke up this morning asking for Bird. Nothing melts my heart more to know that she loves her grandma so much. Especially to see her drop everything and run to the door when she walked in Saturday evening. As a mother it is a huge comfort to have someone you can rely on. When we leave there are no tears, just a big bye-bye to mom and dad and typically a nice shove out the door. Such Love !!! Oh..did I mention that Grandma even tackled a Bella EXPLOSION bath. BRAVE BRAVE woman.


Today...Frankie and Bella surprised mom with washing and cleaning my car. I have to admit, I think Bella mainly washed herself but she had a ball. With the 80+ degree weather she had a blast playing with daddy outside. I enjoyed some quality alone time and started my "nesting". Was it really necessary I organize under each sink in our house???? I then tortured myself in one of Kathy's classes. Have I mentioned she is the devil? I better have a six-pack by the time Little Frankie pops out. I came home to two clean cars, a sleeping child, and a surprise package of goodies from Grandma Bird for my princess. She is now the proud owner of the cutest pj's ever. We enjoyed a nice family dinner....and in true Bella fashion as we finished saying grace Bella shocked Frankie and I both with a huge AMEN !!! Which of course was then repeated for the rest of the evening. Which was even funnier when it was included with an "Ah-Man" !!

"Waiting Room Spectacular"

The classic "CHEESE" photo !!!

We had a great day today minus a major meltdown!! We started off the morning getting dressed and ready for our Stroller Walk with our playgroup. The great mom that I am, I let Isabella run around for a bit before started (BAD IDEA). Needless to say when it came time to leave she was having none of that period. We had screaming, kicking, back arching, foot stomping etc. THE WORKS !!! I finally was able to strap her in, and off we went. I'm SO LUCKY to have a great group of moms that a)completely understand a child meltdown and b) are able to completely ignore the fact my child is screaming and can still hold a complete rational conversation. She finally stopped crying and slept through the rest of the walk. I know this may come as a shock, but my little diva with major attitude, has a HUGE TEMPER and it is either her way or no way. AKA we lay down in the middle of the drive way if we don't want to get into the car etc. Ahhh the joys of the "Terrible Two's" !!!


We made it home in one piece ate a quick lunch and off to a doctor's appointment for mom. Same story second verse more insulin for mom during the day and a new bedtime insulin for mom at night. The best part of the appointment was the show Bella put on in the waiting room. Now as much temper as my child has, she has just as much personality with NO FEAR of people at all. She is such an attention hog, and the more the better in her book. Picture us alone in the waiting room...then a couple more showed up and a few more and a few more. Bella had to greet everyone that walked in, and then thought it was extremely funny to tell them all bye-bye instead of Hi. She personally went to each individual to give them a more personal greeting. She danced, she clapped, she spun, she laid down, and the more everyone laughed the bigger the performance was. Now picture a pregnant mom waddling around the waiting room after Bella, apologizing for my "outgoing" child and begging Bella to use her inside voice. I said "shhhh" quietly and she said "shhhh" as loud as possible. If that wasn't enough we closed the performance with her saying "rock-a-bye" to her baby which was followed by group AHHHHH, and as we finally walked into our appointment my child felt the need to flash everyone. Soooo do I still have any volunteers to watch my little princess when I go into labor?????

Bella came home and took a nice nap, I think she knew mom needed a rest.

We went for a family walk in her new car this evening. She LOVED every second of it !!!! Just take a look at the pics....

"Ah-Man!!!"

We arrived in Fort Worth late Thursday evening. We all rushed off to bed to get some quality sleep in. I drove my mom to the hospital early Friday morning. Dad, Frankie, and Bella followed later that morning. I'm happy to report her procedure went well !!! No additional surgery was needed !!! Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.

The only shot my mom aloud at 5:45am !!! She was such a good sport for the blog!!

Bella gave Grandma Mia an added dose of medicine with all of her antics in the hospital room !!

Mom made it home in one piece and we all assisted in helping her recuperate over the weekend. She is still in a bit of a hussy since she can't drive for another seven days :-( Saturday & Sunday was full of excitement as Dad and Frankie worked ALL day outside both days assembling their new fence. I've never been more proud...Bella and I even chipped in to help on Saturday. It still amazes me that my own child knew what to do with a hammer and wrench-thingy. She enjoyed being outside and exploring. By the end of the afternoon she was COVERED in MUD. We did have a "pondering" moment of the weekend. We turned our back on my little angel for a second, I turn around and find her my parent's patio holding something. I run(ok waddle) for a closer inspection to see that my child has somehow found a Blue Jay's egg and has smashed it in her hands and rubbed them all over the patio. Now as many of you know my child is VERY allergic to egg, sooo.....do Blue Jay's eggs count? I didn't care...she was immediately doused with the water hose and escorted inside for a bath and a dose of Benadryl. Thankfully no reactions were accounted for !! I guess we will never know what came first the Chicken or the Blue Jay egg?!?!?!

My sister and mother took great pleasure in Bella this weekend and her ability to transition into a parrot. Her new favorite NON-STOP phrase "Ah-Man"...and the more my family laughed with her the more she gave a performance. It was a truly comedic site...if only it would have stopped there. Imagine a four hour drive home today...with "Ah-Man" coming out of your child's mouth every two seconds. Her Auntie Na-Na surprised Bella with Bubbles, so we spent most of the day Sunday listening to "Mine Bubbles"...(Yes, we are still practicing on sharing)!! and if it was suggested otherwise that was immediately followed up with an "Ah-Man!" !!! How my little angel is growing up with such a personality!! Who would of thought....

We love mud..Dada was so proud !!!

We love tools...Dada was even more proud....

On a special note Bella had her first hair-cut on Saturday. I'm happy to report it went surprisingly GREAT !! She was able to watch Dora and couldn't have been happier. The hair dresser was even kind enough to let Bella stand-up and look around while her hair was being cut. Our fingers are crossed now that she had a little trim that it will really start to grow-in !!!

Before the hair cut began....

The Dora DVD was just put in...Bella is VERY excited !!!

She wanted to watch the other kiddos behind us....

almost done ;-) we now have Dora and a comb..she was in her happy place !

Mini-me...our little Francine !!

Cute pic from today..and one of her new outfits from my aunt !!

Tuesday was another fun-filled day of playing inside, Bella's allergies were still a tad on the bad side. Of course that doesn't mean our day wasn't full of excitement. Bella has now learned to say "please" which is wonderful one would think. Except that when I tell her NO about something, she opens up her BIG Brown eyes to me and goes "please mama"....oh no it doesn't stop there the bottom lip then pops out. (remind me to thank Aunt T for that one)! How can one possible handle that??? If you have any suggestions please send them my way.
We also received a SURPRISE package from my Aunt & Uncle in Idaho for Bella. Inside was an obscene amount of new clothes for my little princess. Everything was gorgeous and amazing, we are so incredibly thankful for ALL of the new summer wardrobe. I will post pics of Bella going through the box, our fashion show, and of her running around with at least 15 of the outfits on. Bella, Frankie, and I spent the evening doing our typical family thing dinner, bath, story and bed ;-) Well at about 4am Wednesday morning Frankie wakes up and hears a "beeping" sound, that I can not hear. Which of course leads into a tirade from the pregnant woman that I just fell asleep because his son has been playing soccer in my belly for the past three hours...oh and I didn't hear anything to begin with. Well we both roll out of bed and hunt for this sound...which we later found out to be one of Bella's toys. But here is my question....how is it that my husband can hear the faintest of beeping noises from four rooms away, but can not hear our daughter crying on the monitor???? and how is it that my daughter aka mini-me can hear a bag of her favorite crackers open from four rooms away or the Dora intro music start but can not hear her mother from 2 inches away telling her no.....INTERESTING!?!?!?!

Today we had an early start and off to the Ob-Gyn for me!! I'm officially 30weeks and four days today !! Little Frankie Jr. is doing great !!! He is still growing like a weed, a little bit to much ;-) so we are absolutely looking at the 39 week mark to be induced if not earlier. We will keep everyone posted. Bella thoroughly enjoys these visits to the doctor way too much, as all the nurses just pour on the attention and spoil her rotten. Mini-me was addressed today as "Frankie in a skirt aka Francine". We then headed home where we spent the afternoon playing and getting ready for our trip to Fort Worth this weekend. Right before Frankie came home from work Bella had decided that when she walks into any room, she must open her mouth as wide as possible and scream "AHHHHHHH" !! Which for any-non Trifilio member would seem a bit odd, but...as mini-me's father walked in the door all I hear is a "Waaauuuuu" and a followed "AHHHHHH" it is only a matter of time before she crosses over to the "Waaauuu". I take off for the gym and leave Frankie with the simplest instruction for our child, what to give her for dinner etc. (Reason #937 why Frankie isn't aloud to babysit) Apparently I forgot to tell him that we do not let naked children run around without their diaper after drinking three glasses of water. He apparently took his time putting her diaper on, and he found her in the squatting position ;-) I wish I could say this was the first time this has happened while mama was absent from the home. Needless to say she had an early bath time !! It is now almost 10pm and my child is still running around like a crazy woman, and I beg Frankie to tell me what he gave her to eat while I was gone as she is obviously having some reaction. He is still pleading he didn't give her anything but I have my suspicions...I need to go peel my child off the wall.

this photo taken this evening at 9:45pm...do you see the devilish glint in her eye?

Please give an extra prayer for my mom on Friday, she is having her heart catheter procedure done to evaluate possible blockage in her heart. Frankie and I are making to the trip to Fort Worth to visit her in the hospital, and help her recuperate over the weekend.

Our Weekend !!

The Trifilio's had a wonderful weekend, that included a nice long visit from Bella's Auntie NaNa (my sister). She arrived Friday evening with a car load of food and surprises for all. Needless to say Frankie, Bella, Baby Frankie and I were VERY happy to see her and all of her goodies. We spent the evening catching up and Bella spent the evening showing off. She is in total "dance" mode right now, and everything involves a booty shake and flapping the arms. Saturday Bella was more than happy to give everyone a 7am wake-up call. We all enjoyed a HUGE breakfast made by dada and auntie. Auntie NaNa was a bit concerned she wouldn't get her workout in for the day and I reminded her she had nothing to worry about, that Bella would be more than accommodating to take care of that for her. We spent the afternoon registering for Baby Frankie (Auntie NaNa enjoyed a lovely bout of cardio chasing Bella around the store), and enjoyed a great lunch and dinner prepared by Auntie NaNa. Bella especially enjoyed a new found pasta that she can eat !!! She was actually stealing it off Frankie's plate !!! NaNa enjoyed her second workout of the day giving Bella her bath....ahhhh that involves a Full Body Work Out !!! Unfortunately Sunday we had to say our goodbyes, but not before we had a bubble fest with Bella and a mean game of Scrabble (Yes I won in case you were wondering, and I like to add my sister has a Major in ENGLISH ;-)))). Of course Bella surprised filled weekend didn't end there as we also received a wonderful visit from grandma bird and my super great friend Kathy came over bearing gifts for Bella, one of which included a car that I've been on a massive hunt for. It was a HUGE HIT, and she has sat in nothing else since Sunday evening. So once again another HUGE THANK YOU to Kathy !!!

a few pics from our bubble fest.....

Today we took it easy as I started the dreaded Braxton Hicks contractions this weekend :-( and Bella had a TERRIBLE allergy day...darn pollen :-( So mom squeezed in a workout this morning at the Y with another great report coming from Bella's teacher Yvette LOVE HER !!! She even stayed in the Big Kid area today !!! Bella and I spent the afternoon cuddling reading books that she picked out herself and me pushing her around that darn car...yeah Thanks Kathy and Frankie who technically is your fault since you started the whole pushing thing to begin with
;-) !!!

A few pics from the car derby.....