Easter Part 1

 We had our first Easter morning in our own house since Gianna was born. It was really nice and the kids loved seeing their treats and gifts and loved hunting for eggs. Then it was off to church. Gianna looked especially adorable that day, I thought. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Miscellaneous February happenings

My 3 Valentines posed for a picture

We went for a weekend trip to see all the grandparents that included celebrating Grandma's birthday.

We went to the planetarium.

And Iron Man used our bathroom.

Snow!

In February we got our first and only real measurable snow. And it happened on a Saturday, which couldn't have made this pregnant mom happier! The kids got to enjoy the snow with Daddy and Grandma and Grandpa. It was pretty cold out there, but they didn't care. I thought Mark might be scared of sledding, but neither of them could get enough!
 

Making the trek back up the hill was tough for little legs! Lucky for Doug he did figure it out eventually and was super proud of himself!

 

 

 

 

Christmas!!

Christmas began with a snowy Christmas Eve visit from Santa. Mark and Bella were not shy about sitting with Santa and his elf. Although I think Mark was solely motivated by cookies.

 

 

How cute is our sweet nphew Luke with Santa? And Gianna loved making Luke giggle.

Christmas morning was very exciting.

 

Of course, the gift I almost didn't buy got a big hug and huge smiles from Gianna.


Maybe the morning was a little too exciting for some.


After presents at Grandma and Grandpa's we went to Nonna and Pop-Pop's for round 2. There is no photographic evidence of the chaos that ensued there. After church it was back to Grandma and Grandpa's for lunch before heading to Washington, DC to see my aunt and my cousin and her family.

 

 

With my cousin's children. Gianna loved Leah (10) as she always does.

Mark and my aunt Ellen.

The boxes were almost as much fun as the presents, as usual!

The snow and cold made basement bike-riding the only option. It was a good start for her though. I was afraid she wouldn't even get on it!

We squeezed in lots of cousin time too.

It was a lovely Christmas and I actually felt like it was all over too soon. Though our Christmas decorations were up for over a month, it felt a little sad to take them down. I'm always happy to de-clutter though.

The Christmas spirit

Both kids were really into Christmas, as expected, this year. We did a lot of looking at decorations and even attended the tree lighting at our church. But their favorite thing, undoubtedly, was a Groupon-inspired trip to Sesame Place for their holiday extravaganza. It was a pretty grim day weather-wise, but it never did more than drizzle which was enough to keep the crowds away, so it was kind of perfect! The kids loved all the Christmas-y things and seeing their favorite characters. (On a side note, I've always been hesitant to go to Sesame Place because the kids have NEVER liked Sesame Street. But a few months ago, they started watching it almost daily, so this was the perfect opportunity.)

 

 

 

Mommy doesn't do teacups...at least not while pregnant. My equilibrium is off enough, thank you.

The last week of school before winter break was very fun for Gianna. Parents were invited to the writers' celebration where the children shared their "published" stories. It was adorable. The kids were SO excited to share their stories with anyone who would listen. Gianna's story was about Aunt Jenny and Uncle Steve's wedding. So that's them on the cover of her book.

 

It's a...

BOY! We found out just after Thanksgiving. I said I didn't have a feeling either way, but the morning of the ultrasound I could have sworn it was a girl. So I was actually quite surprised by the news. It just didn't seem possible that we would have the same sex baby as Doug's brother a third time! But, turns out, it is possible and true! I don't have any pictures to share, but he looks cute, well as cute as a black and white fuzzy blob can look. And he was so busy moving around in there that the ultrasound tech couldn't get all the measurements she needed. It's such a miracle to see...every time!

Thanksgiving

We don't have many Thanksgiving pictures, but it was a lovely day. My parents were in town. We watched the parade and had a delicious meal. Our neighbor joined us for dinner too, so it was nice to share our abundance with others too. We are very blessed indeed.


We've stuck with our tradition of putting up the tree on Thanksgiving weekend. The kids were so excited about the start of the Christmas season. It makes me excited too!

Enjoying the first Christmas cookies of the year!