Go Redskins!! Playoff Bound!

Go Skins! We went to the Brozena's to watch the Redskins crush the Cowboys!! Yahooo! Watch out Seattle...here we come!

Andrew & Grandpa Joe

Smile Boys!!

We visited Grandpa Joe on Saturday. The kids had fun and I almost beat my Dad at Rummy 500. Grandma and I gave it our best effort. We want a rematch!!

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Morning- We received a wake up call at 7:55 am from our friend Julie. I told her to call us to let us know what Santa had brought. Believe it or not, my whole house was still sleeping. My first stop, following the call, was to Abby's room. I whispered in her ear "Do you want to go down stairs to see if Santa left a baby doll for you?" With eyes still closed she nodded yes. Andrew must have heard us, because he was next. Sarah was easy to get up. Samantha...not so much. She is a true sleeper. However, Sarah just mentioned the word Santa and Samantha was tripping over herself to get out of bed.

Santa did a good job this year. Abby was overwhelmed with the sight of "Baby Emma" her baby doll from Santa. It talks and moves and quite frankly is a bit creepy to the adults. Andrew loves his doorway playhouse and the twins were very excited with their High School Musical Sing Along game for the Wii. They were even more excited over their only gift from Mommy and Daddy...tickets to the Hannah Montana concert on January 8th in Baltimore.

After all the gifts were opened, Grandpa Joe came over for dinner. We had ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoe casserole, biscuits, asparagus, cranberries, pumpkin and pecan pie. Oh, I almost forgot to mention, Chris didn't thaw out the turkey so Grandma C, Abby and I went in search of a ham at the Safeway. The 2 lines for the checkout were about 20 people deep. Oh Well!

We ended the evening with doubles tennis on the Wii. Grandpa Joe and Mommy on one team, Sarah and Samantha on the other. I won't reveal the results but it's nice to know that age doesn't really matter. :-)

Andrew's Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

We started the day baking and decorating Gingerbread Men. Oh the memories! Of course, the old cake icing was too hard, so I had to make icing from scratch (easy, easy...who knew). Abby managed to dump most of the sprinkles on one cookie. Samantha and Sarah did an awesome job. Overall, lots of fun.

Chris was called into work on Christmas Eve. Grandma C. and I courageously took all 4 children to four o'clock mass. Samantha and Sarah sang with the choir. Abby absolutely loved the children's nativity. She told everyone that she went to church to see Baby Jesus.

After church, we went to the Italian Market for dinner. Yummy! Abby and Andrew decided they loved my Gnocchi, while Sarah had her traditional Mozzarella Sticks and Samantha her Pepperoni Pizza.

I finished the evening at the neighbor's Annual Christmas Eve Open House with Samantha and Sarah (and eventually Chris). Grandma stayed at our house while Abby and Andrew slept. Thanks Gram! :-)

We stayed up until 2 am, doing the usual SC stuff. More about Christmas morning in the next posting...To Be Continued

Carols & Lessons

Samantha and Sarah have been singing in the Young Praise Schola at church. They had their first "concert" for the Advent Lessons and Carols. It was just beautiful. Abby and Marina (our little friend from next door) came with me. Marina fell asleep for most of the concert, while Abby laid on the floor (no nap). Great Job Samantha and Sarah!!

Christmas Card 2007

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

We finally got our Christmas Tree, up and decorated. We were going to go cut one down, but it was so wet outside that we decided to get it from a local lot. I think that the girls had a great time decorating the tree. Andrew just enjoys removing the ornaments from the bottom.

Uncle Tighe & Auntie Kathy Christmas in York, Pennsylvania

We enjoyed our annual Christmas Weekend in York, Pennsylvania with Uncle Tighe & Auntie Kathy. Uncle Ken, Aunt Connie, Alaina, and Alyssa came, too. Ma and Pa joined us for dinner on both nights. We enjoyed some YUMMY food all weekend long. On Saturday, following dinner, we had a special visit from none other than Santa Claus and his special helper Jenny, the elf. Andrew really thought Santa was great. Abby talked with Santa as if they had been good friends for years. At one point Andrew was with Santa and Abby said, "Hey Santa...you got Andrew?!" It was so funny.

Samantha and Sarah seemed so grown up this year sitting at the adult table. They are really getting big. I know they had such a great time. Especially in the dance off contest with Uncle Tighe, Auntie Kathy, Daddy, Aunt Connie, and Uncle Ken.

The toddlers, Abby & Alain, had their fair share of fun. They played, shared, cried, didn't share...you know...typical 2 year olds. The babies, Andrew and Alyssa, exchanged smiles and giggles.

Another great Christmas Weekend at Uncle Tighe and Auntie Kathy's house! We can't wait until next year!!

To view ALL the pictures from our trip click on the link below:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AYuHDhu0bs2gP&notag=1

First Snow!!

You know how it is...first, they call for a dusting in the afternoon...then, it goes from a dusting to, say...oh 1-2 inches, but still the afternoon...you wake up at 6 am to flurries...and before you know it, it's 9 pm with 3+ inches on the ground and the automated school system calls to inform you that school will be delayed 2 hours...of course the two 8 year olds in my house had already known this was going to happen, because at the word of even just a dusting for the following afternoon, they had their pajamas on insideout and backwards...for all you living in non-snow states (or countries) this is a ritual by school children wanting snow...the kind that closes or delays school...

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!!

Bubble Boy

Bubbles, Bubbles everywhere! I asked Samantha to watch Andrew briefly while I grabbed some laundry. This is what happened. Why am I surprised?!

Andrew is 11 Months Old

It's so hard to believe that in just one more month, Andrew will turn 1 year old. He continues to grow like a weed. Food is the number one favorite on his list of likes. He also enjoys rockin' to music. He just can't help himself. Lately, he cruises the furniture, walking from couch to table while holding on. Maybe he'll be walking by his first birthday. Oh, and he has his 2 bottom teeth with the top 2 ready to come in.

Andrew sleeps from about 7:30 pm - 6:00 am and takes 2 naps a day. Did I mention he is into EVERYTHING? The dog food, toilet, toilet paper...nothing is safe around him. He does enjoy sharing his food with the dogs...1 lick for them, 1 for him...back and forth...YUCK!

Wow, our baby is growing up fast!! :-)

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

We started to decorate the house this evening. Andrew and I decorated the inside of the house, while Daddy and the girls put up some of the lights on the outside of the house. Of course, there is more to come. Ho Ho Ho!!