Happy.

Its been a long time coming but I am thrilled to share that I am in a very happy place in my life. Of course having Gabby has made me happy, but having a child takes a toll on everything in your life and honestly, I had a hard time adjusting to my new life.

My friends pretty much disappeared during my pregnancy & after G was born. I went into a slight depression from being stuck and home all day with no friends & a sweet baby who couldn't talk back. Dan was working late every day and our landlord was 10 yards from our front door pestering us about Halloween decorations & something left on our front porch too long. My relationship with Dan was a roller coaster. I am so glad I listened to everyone in my life telling me to stick it out and it will get better because.. it did & we are stronger than ever.

Gabby's constant happiness sure has helped me.

I reconnected with an old friend a couple months ago who is expecting her first child & it she has been there for me every day. In fact, she is coming over to bring me her leftover paint from her daughter's room AND is helping me paint tomorrow. Now that's rare :) We are in very similar situations with our families & spouses. It has been so beneficial to our souls to get together and support each other. Thank you Catherine for lifting me up!

We are now in a home where we can finally breathe & live. Living next to our ridiculous landlord was truly affecting our mood. Our neighborhood is in a really nice area of town and full of families that I am excited to meet. There are sidewalks and parks and fountains! Time to hit the pavement and get into shape. I am closer to my childhood best friend and I have seen her more in 4 days than I have in 4 months! Its great.

Gabby is getting to an age that is more manageable. She can understand more and I am getting to the point where I can reason with her. She has been sleeping 12 hours every night for months now, which has also helped me find myself again, but in the past few weeks our 45 minute napper has been sleeping 2 hours every day. Who are you Gabby!? Gahhh, its been so awesome!

Dan and I are doing better than ever. We have decided put the pressure of a second kid aside and hold off.. for a while. We are even open to Gabby being an only child. The past two years have been such an adjustment that we aren't ready to re-adjust to us just now adjusting! Make sense? Ha ha.

I see a bright future for the Joy-Cacciatore family! :D

Gabby's Half Birthday & Update

Wow. Gabby is 18 months old today. It feels like I have known her my whole life. 18 short months & I can't seem to remember those baby moments that happened not too long ago! Happy Half Birthday baby girl.

Gabby continues to amaze us everyday. She is such an extraordinary child. I can't help but to feel guilty for bragging but an outstanding child needs a little attention from time to time! She is talking up a storm and is saying 2-3 word phrases including "I love you," & "Wheres milk?" She is so affectionate, always coming up and giving Daddy & I kisses without even asking. Gabby & I have reached our own milestone.. we are still breastfeeding!! I can't feel more accomplished for going this long. At this point, it is known to all that 'Boo-Boo" is her favorite thing. . I plan on weaning her around 2 years and hope she will lose interest on her own instead of it being a painful thing for both of us. Gabby is interested in singing, dancing, and anything art.. but don't get paint on her hands!

Dan & I were approved for a really sweet condo in North Raleigh. We move on the 15th of February and couldn't be happier. Each room has huge walk in closets and I will even have my own whirlpool bathtub!! The past two places we have had only have one bathroom and both bathrooms were right next to Gabby's room so I wasn't able to take a bath at the end of the day. I am SUCH a bubble bath person! We will also have a pool across the street, something we have never had. Super excited to get my tan back! Another plus is the neighborhood has sidewalks and isnt super hilly. Our neighborhood is so hilly that when we come back from a walk we are dying. It will be nice to get back in shape at an easier pace than killing ourselves, ha ha.

I will be sure to post pictures of our new house when we are settled in. Hope you all are doing wonderful.

PS- I apologize for the lack of posts lately. I really need to get better with this blog thing!

State Fair Festivities!

Yesterday marked the last day the fair was in town. It was in Raleigh for a little over a week and we were lucky to get to go twice! My Mom has a customer who works one of the gates every year and she is sweet enough to let us in free, which is awesome because we probably wouldnt be able to afford going!

Wednesday night after Dan got off work we headed out there. Traffic was very mild and it was easy to get in and out. The crowds were no where near as packed as other nights. Gabby had never witnessed anything like that before and was overjoyed. We played a few games & enjoyed the most deliciously unhealthy food all night. We had to get the infamous 'Al's Fries' drenched in vinegar. Yum. We also indulged in deep fried Snicker's, Reese's & Oreo's (don't judge, it was a combo deal!)


In Heritage Circle, our favorite section, we danced to bluegrass, sipped on apple cider & couldn't pass up the apple pie at Smitty's Apples. On the way out we may or may not have stopped for some deep fried cinnamon buns! This was the latest we ever had Gabby up & left the park at 10pm. Her bedtime is around 7:45. She did excellent & was in good spirits the whole time.

Deep Friend Cinnamon Buns!

We had no idea we would end up going again, just 2 nights later. My brother, Daniel & his girlfriend, Lindsay came to town from the mountains and we thought it would be fun to all go together. While we were waiting for their friends to get there we noticed a Duke University bus and a sign out front that said 'Make $$ for Surveys.' The guys were skeptical but Lindsay and I were all for it. The guy in charge told us it would take 15 minutes and we persuaded the guys to do it. It was easy, quick and painless & we walked out of there with $35 bucks. Not bad! We will definitely be doing this next year!

We were there on a Friday night this time around and it was packed! Pushing the stroller through the crowd was a task. This time around we tried the deep friend Girl Scout Samoa cookies that Dan & I both agreed were the best thing we ever tasted! We walked around while Gabby got to play with her Uncle & Aunt and even with the rest of our group! Gabby protested early & we headed for the car, but not before grabbing a gourmet turtle brownie funnel cake. HOLYYYYY, yeah.

See ya next year NC State Fair!

Turtle Browie Funnel Cake!

Raising a FOODIE!

What a mess!

Penne alla Vodka!

Ohh boy, Gabby's favorite thing to do.. 'TEE' or how the rest of us say it, eat! Up until Gabby turned 1, I was very particular about what she ate. I swarmed off the Grandparents the best I could to keep her from having allergies as an older kid & just stuck with plain ol' baby food. But, now? Now that we are 1? Its time to really dig in.

Can you guess her favorite food? What more can you expect from a little italian baby.. PASTA.. with sauce! YUMM. Yesterday, I made a bolognese sauce  and slow cooked  in the crock pot for 5 hours. It was delicious, and Gabby thought so too. She ate 2 plates of it!

Mm, pretty good!

So that is what heaven tastes like?

Last week, we went to Dickey's BBQ downtown & Gabby tried her first taste of soft serve ice cream. Lucky girl! We even took a trip to Chick-fil-a, my favorite. She gobbled up some grilled chicken nuggets! I am one happy Momma to give her a variety of foods now, instead of boring purees! Bon Appetite, munchkin!

Look WHOO's 1!

After months of planning, Gabby's 1st Birthday party was a hit! I decided to do an owl theme. Of course, my first thought was a princess party, but how many years is she going to want a princess party?? I figure while I have the choice, it will be something cute & fun.. like OWLS!!! I seriously love owls. If I could decorate my whole house in them, I would. Ok, maybe not my whole house.

Anywhoo.. it was fun! I got a lot of ideas via pintrest. I made decorated paper lanterns to look like owls & made felt owls with big googly eyes! I painted cork board decor in the shape of an owl, made pendant banners & a picture collage of Gabby's first year. I even did a video slide show of Gabby from the kicks in my stomach to saying her first words!

We bought the cake from Whole Foods & they did SUCH an amazing job. I gave them almost nothing to work with and trusted them completely... But I did designed the owl on the cake, which was cool. I gave the lady the picture of the owl & asked to include pink in the cake.. and the owl. No other colors or design specifications. So neat!

Gabby's party included family & friends since I have known since childhood. She had a blast opening presents and pulling all of the tissue paper out! During cake time she was a little unsure about what it was. After I let her taste it, she went to town! No real mess, but it was fun to watch. If this is any inclination about how she is going to be as a kid, she will be very particular about being dirty :)


The sandwiches & cupcakes were catered, thanks to my Mom, from Carolina Cafe. I made a yummy homemade mac & cheese with a white pizza dip. My Dad, Mom & Dan's Mom all brought delicious sides including ambrosia salad, cucumber dill salad & shrimp cilantro dish!

Thanks to all who came out & made this day very special for Gabby. Lets hope she remembers it ;) Hehe.

Happy Birthday, Gabby!! XOXO

Happy Birthday, Sweet Gabrielle.

Dear Sweet Gabrielle-

My beautiful, free-spirited first child. My goodness, you are already one. Where has the time gone? One year ago, I saw your perfect little face & held you in my arms for the first time. I knew we would have something so special, something other Mom's may not experience. You are everything to me. In one year, I have not spent more than 3 hours away from you. Not because I can't, simply because I don't want to. Every morning I look forward to seeing your smile and spending my days with you. This motherly love thing is surely something spectacular. The way you will only lay your head on me, the way you will only reach to come to me, & crawl to me to want to be picked up really does mean what you feel for me is just as strong as the way I feel about needing you.

You continue to amaze me everyday. I am so thrilled to watch you grow & become the most loving, kind little girl, teen & woman. Today is a bittersweet day for me & your father. As much as I am happy to see you grow, I know I will never hold you in my arms as a 'baby' again.. but you will always be my baby. You have turned out to be such a happy, funny spirit. Such a personality! From a young age, you love to make us laugh & you respond so excitedly to a laugh. It is the sweetest thing. I am such a lucky person to have been blessed with such an extraordinary child. So innocent, and such an angel you are. When you walk into a room, all eyes are on you & in 20 years I can imagine that will be the same case. Don't change, sweet girl, you are perfect. You will do amazing things one day, I just know it. Happy 1st Birthday, Gabby.

Love,
Mommy.

Our Super Smart Girl! (& her tricks, too!)

It is really starting to sink in that our little cooing baby isn't so coo-y anymore. She is a talking, animal noise making, crawling boddler (baby/toddler!) I should have known with my talkative ways, Gabrielle would be a little chatterbox.. and with a name like Gabby, could you guess otherwise? From the minute she wakes up, it's non-stop chit chat. She tries her hardest to attempt every word we try to teach her. Gabby really loves talking.


We play a hand game with her that my parents played with me as a child called "Roundball, Roundball." She just loves it, and this week started saying "Rou-bow, Rou-bow" while doing the motion of the game. It blows my mind that she is just 11 months and has a vocabulary of about 10 words. I am totally having a braggy moment, so bare with me here, Gabby's my first and so so smart I can't resist! Maaaaybe this means she will be an English major? Singer? Public speaker?!