Christmas 2010!

Our Christmas stared early with a trip to Doug’s brother’s new home in PA. We haven’t seen them since August, so it was a fun reunion. I think all the kids had a great time and it was good to start opening some presents. We’re so happy that their family is finally all settled together and in a lovely home that is only a couple of hours away!

Mark (13 months) and Jack (16 months) playing

They got Gianna a Dorothy costume...adorable! Thanks Uncle Nick and Aunt Elizabeth!

Gianna’s school Christmas party was on the 23rd and it ended with a brief concert for the parents when we came to pick them up. It was very cute. Gianna was a very good singer and loved showing off for us. They made so many cute little Christmas ornaments and crafts at school. She loved every minute of it!

Then the real Christmas festivities began. Grandma and Grandpa and Nonna and Pop-pop arrived on Christmas Eve. Gianna was so excited about them coming. And while Mark didn’t know what was going on, he greeted all of his grandparents with enthusiasm! We went to an absolutely mobbed Christmas Eve mass in the afternoon. It was a very cute little program for children that I think Gianna would have loved had we not been sitting in the last row, practically on top of each other.

Then we went home for a delicious seafood dinner prepared mostly by Doug. I would call it the traditional “seven fishes” dinner except there were more then seven dishes and less than seven fishes. The highlight for everyone was the lobster rolls. Doug was very successful at re-creating his favorites from Kennebunkport, Maine. They were amazing.

After dinner Gianna prepared for Santa, putting out cookies for him. And putting out carrots and school-made reindeer food for Rudolph and his pals. Once she and Mark were in bed, we adults had dessert and got to work. We had a kitchen to fetch from my cousin’s house and a dollhouse to assemble and furnish!

Gianna's Christmas Eve outfit, she fell in love with it in October. It's a ridiculous dress.

Mark in his formal wear.

On Christmas morning Mark was the first one up (because apparently his latest trend is to be STARVING at 6am) and he was positively giddy that Santa had come. Mostly because Santa brought him his favorite thing of all time, a punch balloon. Mark literally danced around all morning. So cute!

Gianna, as you will see in the video, was in a state of awe/confusion/trying-to-take-it-all-in on Christmas morning. (She had so many questions about Santa, I swear she’ll be a non-believer by age 5!) Despite seeming subdued, she was, in fact, very excited about her dollhouse and played with it all day

So, the day was filled with lots of playing and even some craft/cookie time with Grandma and Nonna. We were delighted to host our first Christmas and have such a fun and relaxing time with the kids and all their grandparents.

Conversations with Gianna and some cute pictures

(In bed ready to go to sleep)

Me: Do you want a sip of water?

G:(whispering in a fake scared way) It's poison!

Me: No, it's just water.

G: I’m pretending it's poison!

Me: Okay.

G: (takes a sip, then crashes to the bed “asleep” from the poison)

(On being a flower girl with her cousin Bella in her Aunt Jenny’s wedding this spring)

Doug: Will you dance with me at Aunt Jenny’s wedding?

G: Yes. (Pause.) But who will Mommy dance with?

Me: Maybe I could dance with Daddy and you can dance with Bella.

G: (very adamant) Bella’s not a partner. I need a man!

The rest of this blog entry is just a chance to post some pictures that may not make it into the Christmas and snow posts to come.

Mark has started to really like "drawing." Now, if we can just keep him from eating the crayons.

My sister is hilarious.

Icing face from eating her Christmas tree creation from school...because she ate it like this:

Just hanging out with my girl.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanks to preschool, Gianna was super prepared for Thanksgiving. She kept asking when our feast was. Luckily, Grandma and Grandpa arrived Wednesday morning, so the festivities could begin a little early.

Gianna was excited about the Macy's parade. Okay, maybe I was more excited. But hey, Doug is not exactly a parade enthusiast, so I was looking forward to sharing it with someone who would appreciate it. And she did! She was a little lukewarm about it first, but eventually she really got into it, lots of dancing and singing along.

We had a delicious meal with way too much food. But Doug's turkey was so awesome that we didn't mind eating leftovers and definitely didn't let it all go to waste. Not surprisingly, Gianna ate virtually none of the Thanksgiving fare and Mark loved every dish! We tried to make Thanksgiving in Germany last year, but it was fun to do it up right this year!

The day after Thanksgiving, Doug and I took Gianna to her very first movie in a movie theater, Tangled. She LOVED the popcorn and tolerated the movie, so when the popcorn ran out she said, "Mommy, I'm not really enjoying this. I want to go home." Fortunately, a quick trip with Doug to get some M&Ms revived her interest and she made it to the end. She did like it, but I think she'll appreciate it more once we can watch it at home and really talk it out. The girl likes to talk it out. She definitely enjoyed her special time with Mommy and Daddy. We're so glad Grandma and Grandpa could stay home with The Shark.

We also tried to take some potential Christmas card pictures. There was no crying, but there wasn't much cooperating either, so maybe we'll try again sometime!

On Saturday, Grandma and Grandpa left and Nonna and Pop-pop stopped by on their way back home. It was nice to spend a few hours with them and they even helped us get our Christmas tree.

We got it completely decorated on Sunday and Gianna had a fun time looking at all of our ornaments and helping put them on the tree. Mark was intrigued by the tree and learned quickly that he is not to touch it or the ornaments, but the ones that are ball-shaped were just TOO tempting for him. So now that they're out of his reach he's doing great. And we're loving our great tree. We haven't had a real one since 2005!

Dear Christmas Season, we missed you last year! Bring it on!

Happy Birthday, Mark!

On November 20, Mark turned one. It is still, even a week later, hard for me to believe. In so many ways, it feels like we were just in Germany waiting for him to arrive and then getting ready to bring him home. (I still can't believe he was born in Germany, either!) He's just the happiest little guy. He's very sociable and friendly, totally different from Gianna. Last Sunday at church, we went back the vestibule where other people with restless children were sitting and standing around. And Mark went around and shook all of their hands and smiled and waved at everyone.

He had a nice first birthday. Just a little cake and a present on the day and then he got presents from his grandparents later in the week. He wasn't too excited about the cake, but he did eat and wear some of it. And he LOVED the helicopter we got for him.

Last but not least, here are the big boy's stats.

Weight: 25 lbs, 3 oz (90th percentile)

Height: 32 inches (95 percentile)

Some fun videos

I could bore you with the details of how we are all transitioning to Gianna not taking a nap any more (let's just say Gianna's a bit cranky and Mommy is even more so!), but instead, I thought I'd post a couple of cute videos of the kids playing.

Mark freaking loves this blanket! And when Gianna is in it, on it, or holding it he loves it even more. And when this doesn't annoy Gianna, it makes for some pretty cute and hilarious playtime.

And apparently they both love leaves. They had such a great time playing outside today. If the landscaping crews could just be a little less attentive to the fallen leaves, we could do this every day!

Silly kids

Mark likes to put things (everything) in his mouth and then not hold onto them. Beverages are no exception. ("Look Ma, no hands!")

This is "Cinderella" in her carriage looking at "Prince Charming" and then talking to him (me) on the phone. Could she look more like a teenager?

Halloween and other October cuteness

So Halloween was lots of fun around here. We went to a Halloween party at a friend's in PA on Saturday. Doug and I even dressed up (Prince Philip and Sleeping Beauty), but I'm sparing the world and my pride those embarrassing photos. There were lots of cute kids and cute costumes at the party, not to mention the great food and pleasant adult conversation! A good time was had by all.

And of course, Sunday meant trick-or-treating. Gianna (Alice) was READY! She was excited to say her lines and do all the things she was supposed to do. And Mark tolerated the festivities, if not the shark hood!

Going backwards a bit, Gianna's class at school did a little Halloween "performance" for the parents. They started by surprising us from behind there pumpkin masks and then sang several songs. It was very cute and Gianna was super into it.

And here's some Mark cuteness from the rest of the month, including a video to show how good he's walking. That middle picture is just to highlight 1) how cute overalls are and 2) how curly his hair is. He's such a happy little guy.