Rockettes

There are many times in a little girl's life that she is treated like a princess. Last night was one of them for Sophia. Since Sophia was two she has been getting tickets to a show as a gift for Christmas. Usually it is Disney on Ice or Elmo but this year she wanted to go to the Rockettes and I was able to get tickets to the Wang.

She was so excited to go that her excitement rubbed off onto her Nanas and Daddy and together we all made it a night to remember. Her Nana Ferrara bought her the dress she wore and her pocketbook. Nana Deb fixed the dress to fit perfect and bought her black gloves to wear for the night. Her friend Sam gave her the jacket. Daddy provided transportation and I was in charge of putting it all together.

Sophia had no idea that Daddy had gotten us a limo to take in for the night. While we were taking the pictures by the Christmas tree the limo pulled up. While looking out the window Daddy said, "Hey, Sophia it's time to go." She went to the window to see what Mike was looking at and saw the limo. Her first response after staring out the window for what seemed to be a lifetime was, "Mom, I think I am getting nervous." With a little reassurance that I was going to be with her at all times we made our way outside and began our journey into Boston.

What should have taken us 45 minutes ended up taking us 90 minutes due to 4 accidents on the way into Boston. Luckily, there were enough things to do in the limo to pass the time. Like...

talk to Nana Deb on the phone,

drink some water from a "princess cup,"

and figure out how the lights and radio work.

We had an amazing driver and he was able to get us to the restaurant in enough time for us to eat a quick dinner. We went to "Fire and Ice" in Boston. Sophia was the hit among the staff and the cooks. The women thought she was adorable in her holiday attire and the men kept giving her high fives and telling her she looked beautiful. By the end of dinner she KNEW she looked beautiful.

When walking into the restaurant she was holding my hand as tight as she could and when walking out she was waving, thanking staff and wishing patrons a "Merry Christmas." She was working the crowd so well that when we were getting into the limo some college students thought she was "someone famous."

It was a quick ride from the restaurant to the show. When we turned into the theater district and she saw all the people, all the flashing lights and electronic screens, the excitement was throughout her whole body. I was getting excited just watching her process it all.

Going into the Wang she was a hit again. Since it was a Thursday night 7:30 pm show there were very few children and a lot of older people. They couldn't get enough of her curls and as one woman put it to me, her "poise." We sat among some amazing woman who entertained her with stories of when they were younger and asking her questions about her little brother.

The show was AMAZING! Our eyes never left the stage. She sat in her chair and didn't move a muscle. During the intermission she didn't want to leave her seat in fear that she would miss the next half of the show.

Once the show was over we headed back to Daddy and Joey in Methuen. She changed into her pajamas and enjoyed a bag of Doritos that one of the cooks gave her earlier in the night.

Not even half way home she was asleep.

I couldn't have asked for a more special night then this one. The memories of this night are etched into both of our hearts and our minds. We will go to the Rockettes again, probably many time, but never will it be as special as it was tonight.

The Evolution of Sophia's Gingerbread House

Like every Christmas we made a gingerbread house. Unlike the last two years I bought it early enough that the pre-made houses were still in stores. All Sophia had to do was frost and decorate it. I was so much easier and a lot more fun.

I thought it would be fun to look at the evolution of Sophia's gingerbread houses.

Sophia 2 Yeas Old

The first Gingerbread house she ever built.

Sophia 3 Years Old

Decorate with a little help from mom.

Sophia 4 Years Old

Decorated all by herself!

The Adventures of Volly Molly

Volly Molly our elf returned to us on the day after Thanksgiving. In the past we have found him in some pretty funny places just hanging around but this year he has decided to make himself known through out the house.

Here are just a few pictures of the trouble he has been causing since his arrival. I want to mention that I do not have a picture of the toilet papered Christmas tree.

He managed to dump out all of Sophia's Halloween candy. If you look closely you will see wrappers of the pieces he ate.

Volly Molly was tired one night so he made one of Joey's diapers into a sleeping bag and took a rest on top of Sophia's radio.

One of his more recent adventures he decided to take all the clothes out of the dresser and throw them around the kids bedroom.

Volly Molly also decided to make himself a bottle and drink it. After this we found him in fetal position in a cabinet with a very bad tummy ache.

Be sure to continue to check back through the Christmas season. I will be adding new pictures as they happen. The adventure continues....

Not Everyone Loves Santa!

2 Months Old

2 Months Old...where has the time gone?

This was a busy month with doctor appointments. His reflux is worse then ever so we have been making frequent visits to his GI doctors. They adjusted his medication and it seems to be helping.

Joey had his 2 month appointment and I am proud to say that he has begun hitting all his milestones. He tries to find familiar voices with his eyes and has begun smiling when smiled at. His head is on the larger side so he continues to work at holding it up.

One area of concern that has been a constant is his head. I began noticing a few days ago that his face was not symmetrical and one eye was much smaller when he smiled. I also notices that his head always turned to one side. Those concerns paired with the small spot spot made me mention it to the doctor. She thinks it would be in his best interest to have my concerns addressed by a specialist at the Cranial Facial Clinic at Children's in Boston. We have an appointment for December 17, 2011. I will let you know how that appointment goes.

Joey has his first emergency room visit this month. Sophia had caught a virus and shared it with her brother. His temperature got high so they wanted to see him. Is was a quick visit and the doctors that tended to him were amazing. His virus lasted only a few days but the sinus infection that he developed secondary to the virus lasted awhile. It was tough with both kids sick but I made it through and I think I did a pretty good job nursing them both back to health.

My little man!

If you look closely you can see a small shimmer of hair.

Thanksgiving

We had an amazing Thanksgiving. Due to the October snowstorm Mike still had work to get done so he had to work the morning of Thanksgiving. I used that time to enjoy the kids and plan out my black Friday shopping trip.

Thanksgiving morning the kids and I took a walk to the corner store to pick up a newspaper. It was a chilly morning but the kids didn't mind. Since being back at work we have not been able to go on family walks as much so this was a well anticipated event. ON our walk, we saw a few of our neighbors outside and was able to wish them a happy Thanksgiving. Sophia liked that.

Joey liked his new winter snowsuit. It is very warm but not to bulky.

After our relaxing morning, we went to Auntie Tera and Uncle Adam's house for dinner. It was an exciting day because both Joey and Matthew were celebrating their first Thanksgiving. Food was great and the company even better!

We had bought Joey his own special Thanksgiving day shirt for the day and he wore the same hat Sophia did for her first Thanksgiving. Sophia was a much better sport.

We did manage to capture one smile from our little turkey!

My beautiful babies!

After dinner we tried to get a picture of all the kids. Luckily Joey was asleep so we only had to try to get one to sit up and all three to look at the camera. They may not have been looking in my direction but they are all sitting and smiling so I call it a success.

After our photo shoot we headed home for a quick nap before shopping. Thanks to my human alarm clock I was up to feed him at 2:00am and then headed out shopping. Around 4:00am I came back and got Sophia. She joined me for her first Black Friday shopping event. We met with Auntie Adrienne and Auntie Tera for breakfast then headed home. It was such a fun day!

Mike's 34th Birthday

Well...Mike is now officially 34 years old, a husband and a father of 2!

We celebrated his 34th birthday in style...Sophia style. Since she was a baby we have been letting her pick out the theme of our birthdays. This year she decided that she was going to throw Mike a "Truck Party." I let her take the lead in decorating and she did a great job.

Mike wanted an ice cream cake so we bought one at the store and Sophia decorated it with truck candles and cookie crumbs to make it look like a construction zone. It was super cute!

Sophia's decorating style. She is just like her Mom...it's not a party without balloons.

Mike's parents came up for the afternoon. We went to dinner at the Olive Garden and then back to our house for the party. I was nice to have them there to celebrate.

Party Pooper!

Sophia was so excited to give Mike his birthday card. She got him a card that had a giant beer on the front. When you open it up it lets our a giant burp wishing him a "Happy Burpday!" Sophia picked the card out herself. She made me laugh since last year she bought Mike beer candles to put on his pancakes. I see a common theme!

At the end of the day Mike had a big smile on his face...as did Sophia. I believe Mike's 34th birthday was a successful one.

"Happy Birthday Mike!"

Hallowen x 4 +1 Power Outage+ 2 Families= Lots oF Fun

Happy Halloween x3!

Halloween Part 1

Due to the crazy October snowstorm we had our Halloween party was cancelled and trick-or-treating was moved to later in the week. The storm knocked out the power at my mother's house so my sister and her kids took refuge at my house. Since Sophia and Ben were looking forward to getting dressed up and going out my sister and I decided we would take the kids to the Rockingham Mall and let them trick-or-treat there.

But not before some cute costume pics!

My Police Woman and Whoopie Cushion.

Tow-mater and the Lactose Intolerant Cow

Matthew's First Halloween

The kids friend Bridget (aka cousin Bridget) met us at the mall. Though it was packed the kids loved being in their costumes for the night.

Power Outage Take 2

The next day my sister and her kids came back to enjoy some heat and electricity. Oh, and to wash clothes. The kids played together all day and had a blast. Katie had some errands to run so she left Bridget with us to play.

That night we all enjoyed a nice cooked meal before they headed home to their cold dark houses. Disclaimer: I offered them the air mattresses for the night but they wanted to sleep in their own beds.

Halloween Take 2

Thankfully, my sister's power came back on and she was able to stay in her own home on Wednesday night. Most of Methuen had their power back so Trick-or-Treating could take place. Mike dressed up as a prisoner for the night. Sophia had been asking him to take part in the dressing up and of course he will do anything for his little girl.

Halloween Part 3

Friday night Sophia and I went to Billerica and Trick-or-Treated with Ben at my mom's house. It was fun to walk the streets with that I once walked when I was a child with my daughter and nephews. The kids had a blast even though it was very, VERY cold.

Halloween Part 4

The last Halloween celebration took place the following Monday at school. Like last year the kids had to decorate a paper bag as a costume for the parade. Sophia decorated her costume all by herself.

This year she was a bat.

Though Halloween is my favorite holiday 4 celebrations in one year is a little much. I could have done without at least 2 of them. In the long run Sophia had a blast and the snowstorm made it a Halloween we won't soon forget.

First Snowfall of 2011...In OCTOBER!

I never in a million years would have thought that Joey's first snowfall would be in October but it happened.

Sophia enjoyed herself outside with her buddy Logan.

You would think these decorations were up in January!

This is one way to give your pumpkin hair!

Sledding in the front yard.

Most babies would cry when brought outside in cold temperature.

My baby hibernates.

Taking a rest after all the outside excitement. Sleeping outside takes a lot out of a person...didn't you know?!