Christmas Part 2

Today we exchanged some things at the store and then had my parents, Jeanine, Kevin and all of the dogs over for Christmas since we couldn't celebrate yesterday. Santa made a surprise visit and helped Emme open up her gifts and boy were there a ton! Emme wasn't too thrilled with Santa at first but she warmed up to him as soon as she saw the toys he had!

NO you did not just hand me off to this freaky bearded man!

So now he is trying to bribe me- What is that all about?

Ok one picture and that is it!

Check out the boys in my new ride!

G-A-P spells my favorite store! Who says babies can't read?

Did you see all this stuff- ALL FOR ME!!!!

Oh giraffe you have to be kidding me!

I am so silly!

oooh a cd player

Merry Christmas!!!!

Today is Christmas and our plans have changed slightly. My dad and sister have had "typhoid Emme's" stomach virus/flu so they cannot come over and go to Paul's parents' house. So Christmas with them will have to wait until tomorrow. Emme came downstairs and was very excited to see the tree all lit up and decorated since I ended up putting all the ornaments on very, very late last night or rather early this morning while Paul put together the ginormous Radio Flyer wagon. She was interested in opening two gifts and then she found her thumb and was ready for a nap. We raced through opening her gifts and put her down for a nap. We ate and opened our gifts and got ready to head to my in-laws for Christmas and my mother in law's birthday. Emme got SO much stuff. She got so many animal things and sesame street stuff. She loves both of these things so much. I feel like a Toys R Us express popped up in my basement. Even Paul came to the conclusion that some of her toys will have to take up space in his "man" room. Here are some pics from the day.

O Christmas Tree......

Where's Emme??

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Christmas Eve at the Farm Stand

We were invited again to spend Christmas Eve with the DiNardo Family at the Farm Stand for a delicious Italian Christmas Eve Feast. We ate delicious lobsters, other fish and linguini with clam sauce and of course delicious wine. (Paul had my share of wine!) The kids had a fabulous time playing and the adults had a great time too. The kids were ready to sleep the night away so Santa could do his job! I couldn't put a picture of all the kids since I didn't ask permission but here is a good shot of Emme and Natalie in front of the "kid friendly" tree at the farm. After the kids opened presents they got to take the snacks and toys off the tree. What a great idea!

Finding the Perfect Christmas Tree

We headed out today to find our tree although once we get it home we probably won't decorate it until Christmas! We went to Cortlandt Farm Market where we found our perfect tree. It will be going in our newly finished basement. It will be so nice to have some much needed room with it being Emme's first Christmas and I hear Santa will be bringing A LOT!

POOR SANTA!!

Today was the Putnam Humane Society Fundraiser-Pet Photos with Santa. Needless to say we had a wild time but all for a good cause. This was one of the better shots. The trio on the left were perfectly poised the entire time but notice the rookies on the right were having a hard time the ENTIRE time. At one point Brody had Santa's beard in his mouth and also was drop kicking Abbie in the head. Jeanine had to wrangle him down hence the green arm in the picture.

Emme was sort of out of it after having her second dose of the flu shot and second dose of H1N1 earlier this morning. Maybe Brody should have had a little something to mellow him out! Emme weighed in at 19.3 lbs and 29 inches long. I am sad because she will be too tall for her infant car seat soon and I won't be able to haul her around asleep like I can now. :(

NEW FLOOR!!

Billy and Paul have been feverishly working to get the basement floor done so we can put our tree downstairs instead of dismantling the couch and having to haul that downstairs. It took them a couple of days to get it down and then Paul and I finished grouting it. I stayed up all night trying to get it done because I had purchased a pool table for Paul and it was being delivered on Sunday so the floor had to be finished so it could dry. It turned out great. I forgot how much work it is to put down a ceramic tile floor.

Tree Lighting

We went to the annual tree lighting in town with Marianne and Natalie and had a great time. They had reindeer and Santa and also had free food and drinks. There were crafts and balloon animals for the older kids and it was a really fun night.

Y Agility Thanksgiving Weekend Trial

(l-r) Abbie, Breeze, Hailey, Smartie, Jerry, Maddie, Tom, Emme, Mac, Roo, Sailor

Yes we are all crazy. On Black Friday my mom and I headed out with Emme nice and early to go shopping in Poughkeepsie. Surprisingly it was empty. We got a lot done and then headed to our hotel as we were trialing up in High Falls, NY that weekend. It was cold! During the day, Emme stayed with my mom in the car for most of the time while we were at the barn.She was playing, reading books and learning new words. She did get out for awhile when she went to the barn with the horses and ponies and got to pet them and nuzzle with them. She loves all animals. She will be the kid who finds a snake and brings it home. She also had a lot of crawling time with her furry friends at the hotel.



So hotel fees for the weekend $100, trial entry fees for the dogs $68, spending the weekend in a two bedroom hotel suite with 5 adults, ten dogs and an infant in which everyone got along and slept through the night-PRICELESS!!!! Tom even snuck in a Q during his last run and Smartie Qed in Gamblers with a four jump gamble?????!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was celebrated at our house with my parents, my sister and her fiance and five out of six dogs were present. Brody stayed with Kevin's parents since he is a little rambunctious.... :) We started cooking, no wait, PAUL started cooking at 9am and I don't think either of us finally relaxed until everyone was gone. Emme ate lots of turkey, and pretty much all the other foods. She particularly liked smashing the turkey cake as seen below.

Emme's Christening

Today was Emme's Christening and we had a great day. Emme made raspberry noises throughout the ceremony and in the priest's face which thank ggodness he thought was funny. She was too cute and then she slept through a good portion of the luncheon. We saw lots of family that we do not get to see too often which was nice and for some it was their first time meeting Emme. The Christening dress and bonnet cut and made from my wedding dress were cut and made from my wedding dress. Here are some pictures from the day.

Cleaning out the Garage

Today we spent all day cleaning out the garage. Emme was perfectly happy watching us clean away from the confines of her playpen.

Holiday Cards

We had 30 minutes+ 6 dogs+ one baby+ 4 adults trying to get them all to look. That = a great holiday picture. I won't give you the actual photo now since it is my parents' Christmas card but I will tease you a little with one of the funniest shots. By the way the most cooperative award goes to Smartie, Jerry and Emme who did not move a muscle the entire 30 minutes. Ok everyone 1-2-3 Say Cheese.........

WAIT!! Brody GET OVER HERE!!!!!

This is classic. Everyone is watching him exit and Emme is waving bye-bye!

From l-r Breeze, Abbie, Tom, Emme, Smartie and Jerry. Not picture is Brody....

Emme's Toys

I went to my mom's and went shopping in her garage. I am so happy my mom and I are packrats. Emme ended up with a ton of really cool vintage toys that Jeanine and I had from back int he day- Fisher Price Barn (yes the one that the door makes a MOOO sound) and Little People House, an Ewok Hut and a 1978 Sesame Street Little People Clubhouse. We also found 25 Sesame Street figurines, a metal lunchbox and a ton of other stuff. I wish I had all the pieces that went with these things and the other things we gave to our cousins. We are only missing a few things but Ebay is ridiculous- $12 for a Bert figurine! Maybe we will find some at tag sales.

What do you mean you lost Bert!!!!

Welcome to the Family Autumn Breeze!!!!!

Well my dad got an early Christmas present and a shelter dog didn't have to be euthanized. Autumn Breeze was a shelter dog in Mississippi whose owner could not keep her. She was put into a shelter where she was not adopted after a certain time and was put on a 24 hour list. That means after 24 hours she was going to be euthanized. Luckily the SPCA in Westchester has people who live down south and get these animals and foster them until they can come north to be boarded until adopted. Breeze arrived on Sunday and by Wednesday night had a new warm bed at my parents' home. Smartie, Abbie, Tom, Jerry and Emme all love her and she loves them all right back. She is so sweet with Emme. It is like she has been with us all along. Thanks to Lauren Stein for helping Breeze find a new family.

Birthdays

This month is a busy one for birthdays. We had a party for my mom and we went to Uncle Dom's party. Happy birthday to Aunt Marianne too!

Emme's Asthma

Just last week Emme had her first ear infection and she has had colds since September and this chronic cough. Then one day I picked her up from school and she was wheezing, coughing and really pulling for air. I took her to the doctor and he said it is either asthma or bronchiolitis. He said he would give her a nebulizer treatment and if it cleared up it was most likely asthma. If it is bronchiolitis it will not clear up with the treatment. She was SOOO much better after the treatment so we will be treating it like asthma. I had the same thing when I was younger. My asthma only acted up when I had an ear infection or cold. Hopefully this will be the same. So Emme has become a pro at neb treatments.

Happy Halloween

Daddy, Emme and the Jack-o-lantern

Aunt Keri

Grammy

Yummy!

Uncle Billy

Uncle Kevin and Aunt Jeanine

Creepy cupcakes

Got candy??

Picture Day

Today Emme's class took class and individual pictures. I can't believe that they actually do them with babies this little but they said they pulled it off. I can't wait to see them when they come out. Here are a few pictures we took at home after school with Tom and Jerry.