Family Christmas picture 2008

Victoria and Alexandra, Christmas 2008

Snow..Glorious Snow!!

Old man winter has arrived in all of his frigid splendor. Here are some of the highlights... Dangerous dripping icicles

The view down our street

This is one leg of a maze that Dave shoveled into the backyard for Victoria to play in

My snow angel..making snow angels!

Victoria and Peanut playing in the back yard.

I embarrassingly got BOTH cars stuck in the driveway yesterday. Thankfully, our neighbor brought his snow blower over and blew us out. Dave did a bunch of shoveling and alas, we were freed. The snow continues to fall at a rate of 2 inches per right now.
Unfortunately, our Christmas packages got a bit delayed. We're hoping they make it to their destination soon.

Barilla Pasta

Dave just got a job working for Barilla Pasta! He likes his job and gets great perks...like lots of free pasta, sauce and crisp bread...not to mention the swag bags! My pantry is already bursting! Everyone make sure they buy Barilla and keep Dave employed :-)

His next step??? To learn to speak Italian!

5 Month well baby check

Alexandra went for her 5 month check up yesterday. She is in perfect health and developing wonderfully. We were pleased to hear that her lungs and ears are clear after the dreaded respiratory/ear infection from Thanksgiving. She is in the 25th percentile for weight at 13 lbs 12 oz and in the 78th for height, measuring 26 inches.

Victoria Grace 3 whole years old already!

Here's our Victoria's newest picture!

Winter Festival of Lights

We trekked up north and across the border to check out Niagara Falls and the Winter Festival of the Lights last night. Put on by the Niagara Parks commission, they have amazing light displays and fireworks at the end of the evening.
We hiked all around the area and about froze but it was fun!

This flag is pretty neat, it changes between a Canadian Flag and an American one depending on what angle you are viewing it at.


Did I mention it was COLD? The Minolta Tower showed the temp as a balmy -13C...that's 8 degrees to us NYers.



Just look at the rosey cheeks!!!
















They have a big Disney light display with scenes from the movies. Victoria loved the Princesses.



Beauty and the Beast



Of course the Disney Faeries




Not to mention Arial.
We wandered through a lovely greenhouse. It reminded me of that scene from Frosty where he takes Karen into the greenhouse to keep her warm until Santa comes to take her back home. It was so peaceful to walk through the warm, fragrant flowers. This Nativity scene was nestled among the plantings.














Santa took time out from his busy schedule to see the girls. He was amazing and even took the time to talk to them, find out what they wanted and to whisper in their ears about being kind all year and that his favorite kind of cookies were chocolate chip and would they please leave him some with milk on Christmas eve.






















The Misty Gang....




















The evening ended with a beautiful fireworks display over the falls...

The First OFFICIAL Snow

This morning brought the first true snow of the season, complete with big fluffy flakes and it actually stayed on the ground for a few minutes. Victoria discovered it as soon as she woke up and ran outside in her pajamas, sans shoes. We added shoes and she was off to explore her discovery. Pooh...bundle up, these pictures are chilly!

Alexandra Faith...3 months old!

Just a picture of our newest cutie!





(Victoria's latest coming soon)

Retail Therapy

I'm a shopaholic. There, I said it. Isn't that step one? This season gives me ample excuses to hide my affliction. Seriously though, I am a true believer in retail therapy. Who needs Prozac when there's Macy's? As I was in the mall last night hunting for the perfect gift, I had some time to reflect on the people in my life. I've always chosen gifts based on an intimate knowledge of the recipient instead of grabbing the first thing I see in the price point I have in mind. As I shopped and shopped, I realized there are a couple of people in my life that are important to me that I really only know on the surface. It made me realize that I should (have) made more of an effort. My point is that life is really too short. Think about the people in your life. Have you taken the time to get to truly get to know them?

On a loosely related note, I'm jazzed this movie is coming out. If you haven't read the Shopaholic book series by Sophie Kinsella, I highly recommend it. I laughed and laughed.

The First Snow

Our day has been a chilly one and this evening, the first snow is falling. Here's our Victoria, enjoying it! (No, that's not dandruff!!!)

Mobile again

We are finally mobile again!! This is the latest addition to our family, a birthday/Christmas present for me from David. Yipee!! It's a Kia Sedona and I love it!

Fall is upon us

We are having wonderful weather here! Fall is in full swing but the days are still warm and the nights aren't that chilly. We did see the first snow fall of the season a few days ago. It only snowed a couple of minutes but it was beautiful to watch. I love this tree in our backyard so I thought I'd share it!

Tagged By Stacey

ok, I never seem to have the time play a game of tag, but I guess I'll do this one.

TYPE ONLY 1 WORD.IT'S HARDER THAN YOU THINK!!!

1. Where is your cell phone? Kitchen
2. Your significant other? Gullible
3. Your hair? uncooperative
4. Your mother? missed
5. Your father? stubborn
6. Your favorite thing? kids
7. Your dream last night? intriguing
8. Your favorite drink? slurpee
9. Your dream/goal? home
10. The room you're in? office
11. Your fear? cancer
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Home
13. Where were you last night? shopping
14. What you're not? skinny
15. Muffins? chocolate
16. One of your wish list items? clothes
17. Where you grew up? Brighton
18. The last thing you did? ate
19. What are you wearing? tons
20. Your TV? on
21. Your computer? connections
22.Your life? complicated
23. Your mood? grumpy
24. Missing someone? Poohlings
25. Your car? *?@!
26. Something you're not wearing? Socks
27. Favorite Store? open
28. Your summer? stressful
29. Your favorite color? purple
30. When is the last time you laughed? morning
31. Last time you cried? daily
32. Who will/would reply to this? dunno


I tag Miya, Pooh, and Cara.

Post-Tonsilectomy Bug

Victoria has a cold, her first one since the tonsil/adenoid-ectomy. I find myself amazed again. Victoria has never had a 'little' cold. She would go from feeling fine to majorly sick, the illness would drag on for weeks and weeks and 90% of the time it would turn into an ear infection. When she started with the sniffles the other day, my heart sank. I ran off to the drug store and stocked up on all the usual products I would need to get her through and prepared myself for weeks of misery. I am excited to report that she is better ALREADY!!!! She was only sick for 3 days and 2 of those weren't bad at all. She did share the cold with David and I though. I am so thankful that someone finally checked her tonsils and that we had them out.

Christmas Shopping

We are thinking about getting one of these Fisher Price Jumperoos for Allie for Christmas. Does anyone have any experience with them? I have been reading reviews and (like anything) some people love the toy and others say its a huge waste of money.

Allie

It's been pretty warm here so Allie is sort of hanging out for a few minutes sans clothing. She is really starting to drool a lot and I'm thinking teeth aren't that far away. She is enjoying playing in the exersaucer. Much like her big sister, she hates to lay down or be in any of those traditional baby positions. Nothing but sitting and standing for this girl!






After reading Pooh's comment, I had to find a picture of Victoria at the same age. Here she is!

Pokeweed Berry

This is a bunch of pokeweed berries. We have them in our backyard. I had never seen them before but didn't really pay a lot of attention to them. It wasn't until Victoria ate a bunch of them tonight that I decided I better figure out what they are. Pokeweed berries are a toxic herb type plant indigenous to this area. The berries were used by Native Americans to paint their horses for war, as well as an ink to write letters home during the civil war. Here's what happens when you eat them: vomiting, abdominal spasms, diarrhea, convulsions, and even death by respiratory paralysis- Not a pretty fate! We took Victoria to the emergency room, but were told all we could do was watch her and see. As I write this, she is doing fine. Children fare better than adults because they don't chew as much and apparently a large amount of the toxin is released when the seed inside is crushed. I will keep everyone posted.


**Update** The crucial time for a reaction to the berries has passed and Victoria is fine. She has quite a few itchy hives where her skin came in contact with berry juice but that's all.

Shopping and weather

Anyone that knows me, knows that shopping is my opinion of an Olympic Sport. (The Gold medal would SO be mine.) Anyway, now that we live in snow country, my girls need a winter wardrobe. We went to the outlet mall yesterday and I managed to get all their winter clothes including a snowsuit for Allie for less than $100. Most of it came from The Children's Place. It seemed odd to be buying winter things on such a beautiful day (80). I had prepared David for the cold and snow and told him we'd likely see a few flakes by mid October. He now thinks I'm crazy as we have had daytime temperatures in the high 70's and night temps in the 60's. Today's high is forcasted to be 82. I figured I better brag about the weather now beacuse I KNOW I'm going to hear when we are up to our elbows in snow and my AZ family is still wearing shorts.

A Conversation with my Daughter

Victoria has such a sweet and giving spirit. Here's our conversation from this morning:
V: Where did Santa Claus go?
M: He is at the North Pole making toys.
V: Toys for presents?
M: Yep
V: Santa needs presents too. Come on Mommy, I wanna make a present for Santa.

What kid stops to think of a present for Santa instead of what he is going to bring them? I'm proud of her.

Hiking-or not

We went to Stony Brook State Park today for an impromptu picnic and hike. They have a beautiful trail that winds through the gorge under a canopy of trees. The views are amazing. The trees are starting to change and fall is in full swing. We didn't make it up the trail though. Shortly into our foray on the first trail we turned back because the terrain wasn't the best for climbing with a baby in a front pack. We chose a less intensive second trail that wound around the rim of the gorge. That didn't go so well either--for a completely different reason. We figured something was trying to keep us off the trails today and gave up. Victoria had a blast playing on the playground with some new friends though.

Alexandra's Dedication Day

These pictures were taken after Alexandra's dedication. Thank you again for the GORGEOUS dress Auntie Pooh!

Our Family

Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com

Sisters

Victoria has kept her distance from Alexandra until just recently. Now, Victoria tries to take care of her little sister every chance she gets. Allie was crying the other day and Vix tried to feed her french toast. She asked to hold her yesterday so I laid Allie in Victoria's lap. They snuggled for awhile and when I tried to take Allie back Victoria tightened her hug and said "No Mommy, MY sister" It was so sweet. I have been patiently waiting for moments like these.

The Grape Festival

This past weekend we went to the annual Grape Festival in Naples. It is a celebration of fall and all things grape. There were TONS of antique sales, garage sales and craft booths set up. The food selection was amazing. We saw everything from grape jelly, grape bars, grape cookies, grape juice, grape licorice to deep fried Twinkies and Oreos. The fall colors on the trees were just starting to emerge, making for a beautiful day. I'm posting some pictures now, but you'll notice our family is absent from them. My USB cable has been lost in the move and I have yet to make it to the store to buy a new one. I PROMISE to get to it soon and get some pictures of my girlies up.

This is one of the historic town churches.

Pie tasting competition!

The big debate: Clouds or Fog?

Vix getting a drink with her Aunt Paula

This is what Allie did the WHOLE day

Here's the sign just before Monica's Pies. They make the yummiest grape desserts!