LI Visit and a Happy New Year

For the first time, we were going to stay home for the entire holiday week but apparently the best laid plans don't always work out. With the passing of Andro's mom and Aunt Daph, we went on a road trip. First stop Fishkill which was too brief but we will be back soon. Then, it was on to LV. As I wrote in my previous post, it was a sad trip but to look at the bright side - it was a time the whole family gathered together.

Scott, Laura and Isobel were supposed to come visit us in Boston but instead they landed in Boston and then had to drive all the way to Long Island. What a trip!!!!
The boys were reading some of their new books and look who popped out around the corner. Emily will probably be reading at the same time as the boys since they are so good at including her in their activities.
After the funeral, we went to the Inn for some lunch. Connor took this picture.

Here is our little girl all dressed up.

How cute!!

One of the funniest encounters of the week occurred one evening when the boys were supposed to be going up to bath time. Papa had already gone into the basement to fall asleep and could hear the commotion in the kitchen. Papa popped his head out of the basement door and looked across at Garrett. He proceeded to shake his fist and say "I don't want to hear another peep out of you." Garrett non-chalantly leaned over the garbage pail, looked right at Papa, hesitated for a split second and then said "Peep!" All of us in the kitchen burst out laughing - apparently Papa isn't as intimidating as he would like to be.

One of my favorite family traditions which has been going on since as long as I can remember is New Year's Day breakfast. As a teenager, I thought this was a cruel tradition because you always had to be up so early after being out the night before. Now, I see how it is the absolute perfect way to start the new year - with family. The picture below is only half of the tables we took up. From the picture above, you can see that as soon as the eating was done, the kids were ready to play -that is Raymond at the bottom of the pile of my kids.

The girls really love being together and love being next to each other - they reach out towards each other and it really is the cutest thing. Since they are only 6 months apart, I am hoping that they will be the best of friends.

Look at the faces of these trouble makers. So sweet but they look like they are up to no good.

I can't believe we managed to get all three in a picture. Look at how gorgeous my kids are.

Emily loves Aunt Laura and was always happy for all the attention.

Connor took Papa to the basement and helped him with his football picks. During football season, Connor took a huge interest in the picks. Connor you will be amazed that you learned to add and subtract because of the point spreads. Your math skills are unbelievable and you can add two touchdowns and a field goal faster than most - Amazing! Plus, you learned to read. You are able to read all the teams names and were basically doing Daddy's picks for him every week.

Before it was time to head home, Connor and Garrett managed to arrange a good old hockey game. He got all the men playing - look at Uncle Derrick, Papa and Uncle Eric out there. They were all smiling and laughing while running up and down the driveway.

Congrats on a good game!

Back to MA to start 2011!!!

December 26, 2010

I am sad to report that Aunt Daphne passed away on December 26, 2010. After spending Christmas with Grandma, Papa and Uncle Eric, Aunt Daph passed away after having breakfast. Aunt Daph is one of the toughest people I have ever known because not only has she dealt with the loss of sight for over seven years, she also fought a long hard battle against lung cancer for over a year and a half.

Aunt Daph - I hope you know how much you are loved and you will forever be in my heart and thoughts. You helped shape the person I have become and I am so happy that all my children were able to spend time with you. You will be remembered as a loving, caring and supportive Aunt who was always there throughout the years. I don't remember one event from my childhood that you did not attend. I will do my best to pass on a few lessons that I have learned from you.

1- Always make time for family and keep them close.

2- Live life with passion and speak your mind.

3- Your amazing mathematical skills. I can only hope I can drill my kids enough to have them doing all math problem in their heads.

4- Always support and love.

I love you and miss you everyday.

Home for the Holidays

We stayed home for the holidays and our little family had a blast. Mommy had a great idea (I can say that since I am writing the blog). I bought the whole family matching pajamas and my little munchkins looked absolutely adorable. Of course, you will not find pictures of mommy and daddy because I did promise Daddy I would not leave evidence of him in his red pajamas on the web. So on Christmas eve we continued our tradition of dinner at the Japanese restaurant and then added a new tradition. We all got dressed up in our red pjs and sat around the fire listening to the book "The Night Before Christmas." The kids left a note for Santa along with many snacks and we were off to bed. Side Note: The weekend before Christmas our little man, Garrett, had a close encounter with a toilet bowl and ended up with four stitches under his chin. So he has four steri-strips trying to hold the wound closed after having the stitches removed on Christmas Eve. I am hoping we don't have to experience that again for a while. Santa came...the kids had presents in the family room and the living room, around the trees and by the fire place. I don't think I have ever seen so many presents so you have to think that they were really good kids all year.

Santa must have been very tired after leaving all those presents because he drank all his milk, ate all the snacks and even finished the game of memory.Connor was designated little Santa this year and he read all the labels on the presents and delivered them to the correct person. He loved having all the responsibility and ripped those presents apart with ease.

Garrett had so much fun and took his time. He really looked at every present he opened.

Emily even opened all of her presents by herself. We couldn't believe she had the coordination to grab hold and rip the paper off. She loved her new tea set, purse and refrigerator.

We had such a fun and relaxing day! I even cooked another big meal for the family and 2010 must be a good year for me since the meal was just as good as Thanksgiving. This time it was prime rib and it turned out delicious. Merry Christmas to all...I am looking forward to all the Christmas mornings in our future and hope they are as happy as we were this year.

Plays, Parties and Christmas Celebrations

The last Thursday of preschool before winter break is always the big winter celebration. The children wrote a play where the girls were princesses and the the boys were knights. Here Connor is trying to get the other kids in the right places.
Everyday you see a little bit of yourself in your kids. We were watching the play and Connor was busy directing every one making sure they knew their lines and where they should stand. (I can remember back to sixth grade where I did the very same thing at my graduation. Just ask Grandma - who was sitting next to me chuckling.)

When the play was over, the kids began the singing portion of the program. They were so cute and my favorite part was when all the little snowmen melted into a puddle.

Connor's performance was brilliant - he knew all the words and actions and was a great listener. Connor the play was perfect and you are a fantastic actor.

The weekend before Christmas, Nana and Grandpa came to visit to celebrate Christmas. However, before we could celebrate we had a few things we had to attend...first stop basketball - look at our beautiful Emily taking in the basketball game.
Next stop - Brendan's fifth birthday party. I can honestly say I am not sure who had more fun - the kids or daddy and mommy. We went through all the jumpy houses and slides and I don't think any of us wanted to leave. We had so much fun seeing everyone and the cupcakes were delicious.

When we got home from the party, we had a little photo shoot for Emily. Look at my gorgeous little girl. Always so happy! Thanks to Nana we actually have a Christmas family photo. Then the kids opened amazing presents and they couldn't sit still. They wanted to play with everything immediately - so we were busy putting batteries in and getting things ready.

Sunday, December 19 - Emily tried food for the first time. Obviously, Emily was happy to try new food and she loved it. She gobbled up all the rice cereal and didn't miss a drop. She knew exactly how to swallow. I think we started at the perfect time and it is just another moment where I am realizing my little girl is growing up so quickly.

Basketball Anyone

Basketball season began the first weekend in December and it has been so much fun. The teams are actually sponsored by the Celtics so their teams are named after current players and they authentic reversible jerseys. Connor plays for the Shaq Pack (Shaquille O'Neal) and Garrett plays for the Ray Rays (Ray Allen).

Stretch! While Connor was playing, Garrett was busy socializing - making friends and playing with the big boys. Then while Garrett was playing, Connor managed to organize a two on two game with boys that were several years older than him. Connor sprinting down the court after a basket.

Connor is great at dribbling...he has great concentration and control.

Garrett dribbled for the first time during his first game. It only took him a few minutes before he was dribbling halfway down the court with perfection.

Here comes the white team.

DEFENSE!

2-4-6-8 Who do we appreciate - go team!!!!

I am so proud of our basketball starts - you guys try so hard and I am so happy you are having fun. Keep up the good work.

Our November Happenings

1. The arrival of our winter wood supply. As usual, this coincided with a visit from Grandpa so all the men headed outdoors to stack the wood in the woodshed. Every year our boys become more capable - they really carried the wood into the shed. Of course, Grandpa pulled his weight too and must have made at least 50 wheelbarrow trips.
2. Mommy's Birthday - I was treated like a queen by my family which included dinner at Bickfords. (not sure if I am going to let Brian live that one down.)

3. Montauk Fishing Trip - Brian and Grandpa arrange a fishing trip every year from Montauk but unfortunately since I was not there I do not have photographic evidence of the rather large striped bass and cod that they caught. However, we have had the opportunity to eat some of the catches so mission completion.

The flip side of the fishing trip is that I get to visit Long Island so we took advantage and managed to see almost everyone. Of course, when we visit we turn the house upside down and boy does it get loud. Papa had a blast playing with the kids and loved holding Emily.

Jen had us all over for breakfast on Saturday and the kids had so much fun. No one could pass up a chance to hold Emily.

Allison is so tiny which makes Emily look so big.

The kids loved running around, playing wii and all the treats.

Garrett took great pride in being the big brother who got to hold Emily.

I let Garrett, Connor and Olivia take pictures with my camera because they honestly take some pretty good pictures. As you can see, Olivia is a natural photographer as well.

During our visit, we spent lots of time with Aunt Daph since she has moved back home. It was great to ride our bikes over and to simply run across the street. To think, I have been just running across the street for over 30 years to Aunt Daph and Uncle Eric's house for visits - my how we take the simple things in life for granted.

4. Thanksgiving Time - To all of you who know me too well, you obviously fear for the life of my family when I say I was preparing Thanksgiving dinner. I have found a great way to cheat and I recommend it to all. Buy a precooked turkey! This is my second year doing this and I have to admit that it is delicious and you wouldn't know the difference. Grandma will even attest to that.

Since I didn't have to worry about prepping the bird, I focused on appetizers and side dishes. The boys had made special candle holders at school so we dined by candlelight. I honestly can say I haven't seen that much food in ages and I must have done well because Brian looked full and happy.

5. Family Outing - We went bowling one cold and blustery Sunday. I convinced the kids to take a quick picture...are you wondering why Emily is looking away. The television was on in the room and she was hooked. Looks like she takes after her mommy in that department.

Here we come December - Santa we are already decorated for you at home.

Emily's 4 Month Check-Up

November 24th brought Emily's 4 month birthday and another visit to the doctor. She weighed in at 15 pounds 2 ounces measured to be 24 inches long and 17 1/2 inches head circumference.Unfortunately the visit also brought the need for two shots...the nurse gave Emily the shots and I was astonished because she didn't even cry. I was waiting and waiting but my tough cookie never made a sound.

Her toothy grin and hearty laugh makes everyone smile. You are growing up so fast...slow down! Please!!!!!