Our first BIG snowman!!!

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!!!!

PS. Lots of new posts....

OUCH!!!

The result of a fun day of sledding:

Tree....1 point

Eva...0 points

After a few tears our little trooper got back up and had a ball sledding for the next two hours!!

Sesame Street Live

We didn't tell them where we were going....

Just that we had a big surprise for them...

We kept them guessing for days...

Their guesses were endless...

But they never guessed it could be...

THE REAL ELMO!!!

After their excitement last year with Sesame Street Live we just couldn't resist!! Again, their faces were priceless!

My Little Snow Angel

This little cutie has taken to making snow angels everywhere....in the snow, on our carpet, anywhere he can find!!!

She's one WHOLE hand....

My sweet little girl is officially one whole hand. That's a very big deal in our world, as I can vividly remember turning one whole hand myself. We do birthdays big in our family and this special milestone was no exception!! The festivities started with a family dinner celebration at our home.

Eva wanted a Hannah Montana cake for her birthday and I was more than happy to make it for her - but it was time consuming!!! It made me a little sad to cut into it!! Ha!

After dinner our two little ones put on a concert for us...Eva sang (mostly Taylor Swift songs) and Jaden played back-up and did some dancing!!

This is one of my favorite pictures of the day....after everyone left, things were cleaned up, and PJ's were put on, Eva sat at the kitchen table among all of her balloons and banners and practiced writing her letters and numbers. I'm so glad I snapped this picture.

The next day we celebrated with a "friend" party! Bowling, cupcakes, and games were enjoyed by all!!!

This was Eva's first "friend" party and she was quite excited! Instead of having her friends bring gifts to her party Eva had them bring an item to donate to the local animal shelter. Her friends generously responded - we are looking forward to dropping off all of the goodies this week!

The following day was her REAL birthday and we made sure the party didn't stop!! She wanted waffles for breakfast so we piled them up, added a candle, and sang Happy Birthday!!!

Later in the day she opened the gifts from Matt, Jaden, and I. Her favorite was her Hannah Montana "big girl" scooter (big girl because it only has two wheels)! This was a tough one for her Mommy (it just seems a bit dangerous to me) but we agreed that she would always wear her helmet with it. She is absolutely ecstatic about it!

That night our family went to the movie theater to see The Princess and the Frog - such a good movie!! Afterwards we enjoyed dinner at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. A longtime family friend of ours works there and has the most beautiful voice. When I was a little girl (about Eva's age) he would sing to me.....and we were lucky enough to have him sing to our little girl on her special day. She loved it.

Happy Birthday Eva! We love you Peanut....to the moon and back.

Christmas 2009

Our Christmas celebrations started with dinner at my Dad and Kay's home with extended family and then a Christmas Eve church service where we enjoyed the company of my Mom, Bob, and some more extended family. Eva's favorite part is always the candle lighting part of the service and Jaden was just in awe of everything....time spent at church on Christmas Eve is so meaningful to me and one of my favorite parts of the Holidays.
Cookies and a special note for Santa.....left on the fireplace so he can see them!

In our family we have always taken a picture of the kiddies when they first see the tree Christmas morning...and this was this year! After I shot this Eva ran over to the presents and started organizing them (she is such a logical little thing) and Jaden just sat there staring with his mouth wide open!

Eva received many exciting things....but I'm not sure any measured up to her new tennis racket!

Jaden also received many fun things (including the Handy Manny set he asked Santa for) but he spent a lot of Christmas morning "trimming the grass" with his weed wacker. He also got a firehouse set from Santa that he loved....he loves little trinket things that he can manuever. He spent hours making the firemen walk all over the firehouse, drive the firetruck, and put out fires. I love not only playing with him, but sitting back and watching his little imagination.

We enjoyed Christmas dinner with my Mom and Bob, as well as a couple from our church that did not have any plans for Christmas. We had such a wonderful time and many special memories were made!

Our First Snowman!

He was just a little guy (the show wasn't packing well) but we loved him!! Unfortunately, so did our dog Sophie....she helped herself to his carrot nose as soon as we weren't looking!! Ha!

O' Christmas Tree...

In our home we enjoy the warm glow of two very different Christmas trees. The tree pictured below is our "family tree" and it once belonged to my Grandma. It's a small tree, but it was a perfect tree for Matt and I the first few years we were married. After we got our new tree we decided to continue using this tree for all of our special family ornaments.

On this tree we hang ornaments that Matt and I have saved from our childhood, ornaments that we have purchased on family vacations (we try to always buy an ornament when we go on vacations), ornaments the children have made, etc. Again, only ones that have special meaning!

Each year Matt and I purchase Eva and Jaden each an ornament that they open on Christmas Eve. The ornament has to have some sort of special meaning from the past year. Last year Eva received a Dumbo ornament because she loooooves elephants, loves the Dumbo movie, and was able to ride the Dumbo ride while we visited Disney World.

Jaden received a baby angel ornament with the words "Tis a Gift to Believe" because of the health scare we had with him last year and the miracle of finding out our little guy was just fine. We know angels surround him...as they do all of us and we are so lucky for that!

This year Eva made me this very special ornament. It has her handprint on it and each little finger has been made into a snowman. She was so excited for me to open it she literally could not WAIT until Christmas....I was lucky I convinced her to wait until we got home from school that day! I loooove it....so special.

This ornament was my very favorite ornament when I was a little girl....my own "Baby's First Christmas" ornament. I've always loved that it is pink, that it looks like a bubble, and that it has that pretty angel hair in it. I still love it today as much as I did when I was a little girl.

This is our other Christmas tree that sits in our living room. It's tall and that is my favorite things about it! It hold all kinds of pretty ornaments, but none that have any special meaning to them....just pretty ones to look at. The children enjoy decorating this tree because Matt and I allow them to use the ladder to reach higher points (but not too high)!

The special part of this tree is what lies underneath it....special gifts...lovingly wrapped by little hands...with special tags attached (this one is to Daddy from Eva and the one next to it is from Jaden). I had so much fun watching my little ones pick out a special gift for their Daddy and then watching them wrap them. Such little bodies, but those hearts sure hold a lot of love and kindness. Another good thing about this tree....Santa leaves his presents under it!

And as Eva so lovingly reminded me a few weeks ago...Christmas is not about trees, or ornaments, or presents. It's about the birth of Jesus. So tomorrow on Christmas Eve I'm planning on gathering my little ones up and instead of reading the Night Before Christmas we will read about something far more important...the birth of a little baby...and that is what Christmas is all about.

Merry Christmas!

Our Yearly Visit with Santa

Each year we make a trip to visit good ol' Saint Nick. I look forward to it every year....the excitement on the kiddies faces, the anticipation, etc. It's soooo enjoyable for me. This year was no different. Eva and Jaden were both anxious to visit with the big guy and patiently waited in line until it was their turn.

When we actually get to walk up to Santa is always my favorite part because you never know exactly what the kiddies are going to do when they get a chance to come face to face with the man. One year Eva absolutely refused to sit on his lap, but she was more than willing to stand beside him and explain to him what she wanted. Last year Jaden screamed with arms flailing the entire visit while Eva sat on his lap and patiently went through her 3 page list with Santa. Soooo....I was anxious to see what this year would bring.

Eva was oh-so-excited and while Jaden was willing to sit on his lap he absolutely refused to look at him. Eva told Santa that she wants a tennis racket for Christmas and Jaden put his head down (still not looking at him) and mumbled that he wanted a Handy Manny Tool Shop....poor Santa had to look at Mommy to interpret little Jaden's shy mumbles.

After that the picture was taken (with Jaden still not looking at the big guy).....

Before we knew it our special visit was over...but the fun was still unfolding! The place we enjoyed our visit with Santa had a train that children could ride and our little ones were more than excited to join in that kind of fun!!!

After our train ride we went to the Disney Store for each child to pick out a toy for Toys for Tots. Matt and I try sooo very hard to teach our children the importance of giving, and the Holidays are a perfect time to hit this lesson hard. We talked about how not all childrens' parents can afford presents on Christmas morning and it's so important to do our part to help those children (and parents) out. Jaden is still a little young to understand the whole concept, but Eva seems to understand it more and more every year - and I love to see that little seed blossoming in her! As we walked throughout the Disney store we looked at all kind of things and we talked about the kinds of things other children may enjoy. Eva paused to look at a few little toy cell phones and decided that they were too small...she wanted the child to have something a little bigger. In the end they both decided on these HUGE stuffed animals (so big that Jaden could barely walk with his). They thought another child would enjoy snuggling with it. I was so proud of them as they walked them over to the Marine in the mall and willingly handed the stuffed animals over for another child to enjoy on Christmas morning.

Afterwards our family enjoyed a lunch at Olive Garden! During a time that is chock full of fun festivities and get-togethers this little afternoon holds a very special place in my heart!

Another fun family Christmas

We recently had the honor of hosting Matt's family Christmas. It was a picture-perfect day with snow drifting down lightly outside - I loved it! We had a great time eating, opening presents, and singing Happy Birthday to Baby Jesus (a tradition the kiddies love)!!

"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year."

--Charles Dickens

Christmas Cookies - Part 2!

Time for Gingerbread Men....

I'm thinking all of this cookie making and hot cocoa drinking has put us in the mood for a white Christmas!! Good thing Daddy has two little helpers when he needs to shovel the driveway!

Tis the Season...

Tis the Season for Christmas cookies!! Today was the day the kiddies and I started our Christmas cookie festivities (which include baking, listening to Christmas music, and occasionally some hot cocoa). Eva was so excited she was asking if we could start before I even had the sleep rubbed out of my eyes! Both of them were patient enough to wait until after we ate breakfast....after that....let the cookie making BEGIN!!!

Smashing up candy canes (they take them right off of our tree) for cookies..

Sprinkling the cookies with the crushed candy canes (and licking our lips)!!
All I gotta say is this is a whole lot of yumminess...

Preparing the crushed oreos for our second round of cookies...

Topping them off with a few sprinkles...

And tomorrow.....GINGERBREAD MEN!!!

(Last year I had more flour on my floor and countertops than I did in the cookies after making gingerbread men...but the kiddies had fun!!!)

A busy (but FUN) weekend...

The Holiday season is busy...no doubt about it. This weekend was no exception. But at the same time I love all of the fun that the Holidays have to offer...and again, this weekend was no exception!

My sis and her husband are going to be out of town for Christmas. We decided to exchange our gifts with them early...and is there a better way to do it than in Chicago? We certainly didn't think so! Sooo...our weekend started off in the Windy City...

We stayed at one of my favorite hotels, the Sofitel. The floor in the lobby has lights that continuously change colors...Eva and Jaden could not get enough!!!
This little girl looooooooves cab rides! Ha!! I honestly think it was one of her favorite parts!

Her "Uncle Tripe" even taught her to hail a cab...and she did it!

Dinner that night was at Riccardo's - a place my sister and her husband love. It was tiny (you are actually looking at the whole restaurant in this picture) but the food was AH-MA-ZING! I think it's fair to say we didn't let much food (or wine) go to waste!

A busy day left this little guy tuckered out...he fell asleep before we even ordered our food!

After dinner we went to the John Hancock building to see the amazing toy train display...

and the GIGANTIC Christmas tree!!!!! (Not sure if our little guy is yawning, talking, or yelling in this photo- but I love it)!

The next morning we had a yummy breakfast (which was probably not needed since we were still full from the night before) and then it was present opening time!!!! We only exchanged with my sis and Jeff...the rest of us will exchange later!

After opening our presents we spent a little more time walking downtown. Have I mentioned that I love that city? I think we all do.

On our way home we stopped at the home of one of Matt's co-workers. Charlie works with Matt and every year he has people over so that the children can enjoy his model trains. The kiddies loooove them....and we all love talking to Charlie (he makes me laugh until my stomach hurts)!

The following morning we were up bright and early so our little cherubs could sing in front of the church!!!! This Mama was soooo proud of both of them!

That night we had Christmas with my dad and step-mom! Every year we celebrate Christmas with them and we always watch The Grinch. I've never met a grown man as addicted to Christmas cartoons as my dad is...he knows them allllll! It cracks me up!

We enjoyed our time with them....and as always, Eva and Jaden love checking out all of my dad's Marine stuff (note Jaden's hat above and Eva's below)!

Sooooo.....as I said, a VERY busy weekend but a lot of fun too! Our children were able to spend time with every single set of grandparents this weekend so that added to the fun for them as well!

Hope you are all enjoying this Holiday season too!!