A lot has happened since our last post. First of all, I turned 31. It was a little scary, not as fun as 30 and kind of traumatic-something about being in your 30's, I guess... yikes!!! Anyway, we had a nice family night of pizza and a fudgy the whale cake. YUmmO! I got beautiful earrings and cozy jammies from my hubby and kiddos.
We wanted to host Thanksgiving at our house this year and we were very excited that Nana Cheryl made it all the way to Connecticut to celebrate with us. Thank goodness she was there, because I can only make apps and mashed potatoes. She was responsible for a beautiful turkey with all of the fixings. Again I say Yummo!
We then braved Toys-r-us for black Friday. My friend Trish (who came up with this idea in the first place) totally ditched us and we were on our own. Cheryl, Lizzy and I were in the parking lot at 5:05 and there were no parking spots. I had a list prepared, sneakers on, and I was totally ready to push and shove to get everything I needed. It was busy, but they were very organized and we were in and out in 45 minutes, with eight gifts purchased! Feeling pretty pleased with ourselves, we decided to try our luck at the mall. Target at 6am? no problem- in and out. Still excited, we hit Borders and Express....by 8 am we were back at home on the couch watching the Today show and eating pumpkin pie. Tricia was no where to be found!
On her last day in town we went to brunch at this cute little restaurant. I'm not sure how good the food was because I treated my self to a/ couple/ few mimosas. Thank goodness Lizzy likes bottles.
Despite my efforts on Black Friday we still had a lot of shopping to do. Ikea became one of our fave shopping spots. They have really cool stuff and its fun to hang out there. We had a take a few trips to New Haven for Eliza's baby study so it was an easy stop on the way home.
Thanks to a friend of ours who also has a new baby, Eliza is enrolled in an Autism study at Yale. She is in the control group, meaning she is a younger sibling of a normally developing (non-autistic) child. The study's purpose is to find ways to diagnose autism at an earlier age. Presently, children can only be identified at two years of age. The study is pretty neat, when she is awake or not crying. She'll go every month until she's two. I had to sign a release saying they could use her picture in a textbook. I hope she makes it in!
We celebrated an early Christmas with the Gromeks in Brooklyn because they were going to Florida for vacation. Despite a little cold from Caleb we had a great time. Jay is an amazing cook and exchanged some pretty cool gifts. The highlights of which were definitely Caleb's robot and digital camera (for a two-year-old!) neat : )
The kids and I (and Tricia and Baby John and our friend Shauna) made our annual trip to The Westchester for Santa pictures. Neither of my kids cried while sitting with Santa, but they also wouldn't speak smile or even blink. Despite my antics they were completely stone faced. It wasn't until we were about to walk away that Caleb got concerned and said,
"Mom, what about my scooter and helmut?"
I said, "Well, you better go ask him."
Bravely, he turned around and whispered, "Can I have a scooter and helmut?"
Precious
The Westchester is my favorite mall, even though I can't shop in any of the stores. It does have some good ones like PB kids and Crate and Barrel. I was almost almost done.
Can you believe how big she is????? That mirror is her Santa Claus present and is sings a charming and catchy little tune. Call me anytime and Caleb and I will sing you a duet.
Here is Lizzy loving on her Aunt Shellie. Shellie, Leo and Jackie came to visit us for Christmas. It was a nice visit. We made cookies for Santa and ate pizza on Christmas eve. Hmmm, sounds like a good low key tradition.
The day after Christmas we of course hit the malls for sales and to do a little exchanging. It was crazy there, and Brandon was thankful that Leo didn't want to go and he was forced to stay home and watch television while the girls and kids faced the crowds.
Because we're just gluttin for punishment, we decided to go to NYC the Saturday after Christmas. And we thought it would be a good idea to go to Bryant Park and Rockefeller Center. Gee, I hope no one else had the same idea!!
Can you believe how big she is????? That mirror is her Santa Claus present and is sings a charming and catchy little tune. Call me anytime and Caleb and I will sing you a duet. Here is Lizzy loving on her Aunt Shellie. Shellie, Leo and Jackie came to visit us for Christmas. It was a nice visit. We made cookies for Santa and ate pizza on Christmas eve. Hmmm, sounds like a good low key tradition. I was so excited about Christmas morning this year. I thought Caleb would be bouncing off the walls and running down the stairs to tear into presents. No such luck.
7:30 I am awake staring at the baby. Try to wake Caleb
7:45 Brandon is awake. Try to wake Caleb
8:00 House is awake. Try to wake Caleb
8:30 Make Breakfast and eat it and clean up. Try to wake Caleb
9:00 Brandon, Lizzy and I open our stockings. Try to wake Caleb
9:15 Finally convince Caleb to open his little eyes and see what Santa brought. Bring on the fun!!!
I know there will be years to come when I will be awoken in the wee hours of the morning by my children and I will groan and complain, but 9:15? come on!
Caleb got a train set from Santa and we love playing with it. It comes out every day and hopefully, we finish the basement soon and have room for a train table.
The day after Christmas we of course hit the malls for sales and to do a little exchanging. It was crazy there, and Brandon was thankful that Leo didn't want to go and he was forced to stay home and watch television while the girls and kids faced the crowds.
Because we're just gluttin for punishment, we decided to go to NYC the Saturday after Christmas. And we thought it would be a good idea to go to Bryant Park and Rockefeller Center. Gee, I hope no one else had the same idea!!
You can't tell from this picture, but Jackie has lost over 50 pounds and looks amazing. She was a little grumpier than usual, so I think she should eat a little more : ) lol
Grammy got Caleb a scooter, which he thoroughly enjoyed riding around the house. Poor Shellie, mailed her presents to us and they didn't get to us until the 27th. Here is Caleb showing off his Diego helmut and knee pads. (PS- it took three adults to figure out the front vs. back) She also got Lizzy a Cabbage Patch, which is bigger than she is. Guess we'll save that for next year.
2009, has been pretty good so far. I have two new obsessions. First, the Twilight books. I got all four from Brandon for Christmas and have finished them all already. It only took me this long because I hid the third book from my self for a week. I really like the books, but it makes me mad inside that I didn't think to write them myself first. Dang!
Grammy got Caleb a scooter, which he thoroughly enjoyed riding around the house. Poor Shellie, mailed her presents to us and they didn't get to us until the 27th. Here is Caleb showing off his Diego helmut and knee pads. (PS- it took three adults to figure out the front vs. back) She also got Lizzy a Cabbage Patch, which is bigger than she is. Guess we'll save that for next year.
2009, has been pretty good so far. I have two new obsessions. First, the Twilight books. I got all four from Brandon for Christmas and have finished them all already. It only took me this long because I hid the third book from my self for a week. I really like the books, but it makes me mad inside that I didn't think to write them myself first. Dang!
My second obsession is Chelsea Handler. The girl is funny. So between, reading, Chelsea Lately and a new baby. I am getting no sleep.
There is more to tell, but I have no more energy. I guess I will save the rest. It will make it easier to keep my resolution to keep my blog up to date.
Peace and love to all!
