Here's our freshly painted Sicilian kitchen.
Come on by for a cup of cappuccino or a glass of vino.
When he isn't tormenting Paolo with his toddler frenzies, Currier can be a fun playmate to his little canine brother.
I've never had much of a sweet tooth. I'm more of a salty-carbohydrate kind of girl, but this pregnancy is making me crave sweets wicked bad! I go out of my mind sometimes if I don't get a Strawberry Julius shake, some Twizzlers, Swedish fish or a glass of fresh squeezed lemonade with tons of sugar. This baby better turn out sweet because my teeth are rotting out of my head and my ass is getting gigantic.
My cousin Cheryl and her friend Sue flew in from Massachusetts late Thursday evening for a long weekend visit. As we do with all of our guests, we treated them like VIPs and put them up in the most plush quarters.
On Friday morning, we woke to grey skies with bursts of sprinkles so we ditched any hopes of tanning by the pool or ocean and just took a ride to the Isle of Palms. It stopped raining long enough for us to dip our toes in the warm Atlantic and for Currier to jump in fully dressed. 
Friday evening, we had reservations at Fleet Landing, a seafood restaurant with an exceptional view of the Charleston harbor. While we waited for our table, we sat at the bar where Cheryl and Sue tried Mint Juleps for the first time. Although they had to choke back every sip, they still managed to polish off their refreshments like good Southern Belles. For dinner we shared several appetizers, one of which was lobster and shrimp stuffed hush puppies—yum! After dinner we took a leisurely walk along the waterfront before picking up Currier from his pizza party at My Gym.
On Saturday we took a boat tour to Fort Sumter which is best known as the site where the first shots of the American Civil War were fired on April 12, 1861. 
On Sunday morning Cheryl woke feeling mucho sicko. Apparently she caught the malicious bug that invaded my body a few days prior to her arrival and Trent's body the day of her arrival. The bug, we dubbed the "South Carolina gut rot", caused severe vomiting and diarrhea and made you feel like you were on the brink of death. Thankfully my OBGYN prescribed some good drugs to help suppress the vomiting which I was nice enough to share with Cheryl so her illness wasn't as violent and didn't last too long. 
By Sunday afternoon, Cheryl was feeling well enough to take a dip in the pool and spend a few hours in the sun. It was refreshing until she upchucked a 1/2 gallon of Gatorade in the parking lot—poor Cheryleeski. 
On Monday, Currier and I dropped the girls off downtown Charleston so they could take a horse carriage tour, eat lunch and shop. Later that afternoon, we dropped them off at the airport where Currier caused a scene with his mournful goodbye. Cheryl and Sue were so sweet to Currier. He was crushed to see them go. 
Carrie and Hilde came and spent the night last night. Currier couldn't wait to show off his new bed to his aunts. He dragged them into his room as soon as they walked in the door. In their short visit we ate a yummy steak and scallop dinner, watched Willy Wonka four thousand times, shared some candy, read Everyone Poops for a bedtime story, ate Dunkin Donuts breakfast sandwiches, and as always laughed a lot together.
He screamed when he saw the results!
I wanted to post a few pictures before he trashes it.
Last night Currier and I watched Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. I thought he might be a little too young for this movie but he jumped right into the fantasy and commented many times on all the candy and chocolate. He fell in love with the Oompa-Loompas and requested them first thing this morning, "Boobas please, Mama." I put the movie on for him and went into the kitchen to make a little breakfast for us. When I returned, I caught Currier licking the DVD case with full tongue swipes and chanting "Yummy, Yummy"! That's my boy.
We had an ultrasound this morning and learned that we're having a baby girl. We're absolutely thrilled. The tech said she's been doing ultrasounds for 28 years and has a 100% track record so we feel pretty confident that we can go out and buy a few pink things!
A few of you requested a glimpse of the gut, so here it is! I'm 20 weeks pregnant and already a planet. Ugh! 
We just returned from a fun weekend in Florida at Mimi and Papi's house. It was a pleasure watching Currier get to know his grandparents. Currier felt completely comfortable in their home and obviously loved being in their company. The weekend went by fast but it was packed with good times and fond memories. Some of the highlights were... Mimi taking Currier for a ride in the golf cart to feed the ducks and making Currier his own cocktail during happy hour & Papi entertaining Currier with his famous hat trick and pulling Currier in the big red wagon.
For the 4th of July, we went to Trent's sister Kathy's house for a pool-party-fireworks-extravaganza-sleepover! Currier was doused in attention by all his cousins. They all referred to him as "Baby Currier" and fought over who got to play with Currier, sleep with Currier, carry Currier, change Currier, and feed Currier... I let them work out who's turn it was to take care of Currier and I took a nice break from my motherly duties and just relaxed. It was awesome! 
Papa died this morning. I knew it was coming for some time now. He was 90 and his body was failing him. No matter how prepared I thought I was for his death, it still hit me hard. I'm sad to lose him. My grandfather never told me he loved me. He didn't have to. When I was a teenager, I got into some trouble, got arrested and had to go to court. None of my family or friends showed up to court that day and I was terrified when the judge called my name. As I stood in front of the judge, I caught a glimpse of my grandfather hiding in the doorway of the courtroom. He winked at me. That wink meant the world to me.
