Christmas Memories

Christmas Eve was a bit different than years past, instead of gathering with all the extended family on Marco's side we got together with a closer Poggio few and had the usual feast. Then we had the opportunity of helping out a family in need by wrapping some gifts up that we collectively purchased, decorating them some Christmas treats and filling stockings for the little ones. The kids loved being able to participate in every aspect of that and we all felt such joy when we did the knock and run surprise! What a fun way to celebrate the evening! Arianna and Enzo certainly got more frosting on their hands and faces than on the cookies, but they loved it just the same. And the kids almost got too excited whilst filling the stockings for baby boy and girl. That is a tradition we will have to stick with! I had to fight back tears a few times as I thought on the surprise it would be for the recipients. Christmas is really all about giving. That is the part that warms your heart.
After the delivery we did the traditional chimes, and this time Arianna got to participate. I didn't catch any still pictures because I was too concentrated on making music or filming, so you'll have to trust me on how cute it was to see Arianna focused and playing along. The next morning we enjoyed watching the kids enjoy their own surprises. The kids gave us the most wonderful present of sleeping in a bit, a rare treat! Then it was on to see what Santa left. Arianna had asked for baby stuff and took right to being mommy on Christmas morning. Enzo was too young to really ask for much, but he seemed quite thrilled w/ his train table. We could hardly pull him away from it to open anything else, so we just gave up on that and saved some presents for the next day.

Then we had family over for a Christmas brunch. That meant a house full of people, lots of yummy food and more presents to open. We only wish that there could have been more family there.

Our tree was real so it had become QUITE the fire hazard, so the day after Christmas it was out the door! Then I got to packing up all the holiday decor. Arianna and Enzo must have enjoyed Christmas so much they wanted to get packed up with it...good thing they decided against that one.

And now, on to a new year and all that will bring; Happy New Year everyone! Make it a memorable one.

Getting close to Christmas

Wow, I don't think I've ever waited so long to blog, but Christmas has a way of keeping us all busy, huh?! A couple of tidbits:

Arianna is thrilled with being done with naps. She has become my shadow and is such a great helper. Most recently she helped me finish up the stockings that I was making for my sister's family. She loved to stitch the names on with me and got really proficient at it too.

Enzo has his own way of being grown up. At the Clinger family Christmas Eve get together (which had to be held a week early this year) Marco and I were wondering where Enzo had disappeared to. Marco found him first and called me in and this is what I found:

He had made his way up to the table where someone had left an uneaten piece of pie. He decided to take advantage. He was covered in raspberry from head to...well, only fingertip and was in heaven! He sure is his own lead. Quite a go-getter.

That evening we also acted out the nativity. Enzo was a lamb again because he REFUSED to where a shepherd costume for some reason. Arianna was a King again and came bearing gifts. We enjoyed the presentation and loved the company.

Driving around in my Automobile

Well, we finally have room enough to drive three (or 4 or 5 or 6) little kids around instead of just two! We had always planned on buying a used van, but with the end-of-the-year clearance going on it was a better deal to just go new. LOVE the smell of new car! Am I crazy?! Even more I love the peace of mind in knowing that no one else has driven this car, let alone trashed it. Simple pleasures!

We felt really good about the whole thing and how things have been working out to get us to this point. Thanks for so much input from all of you! We love feeling like the kids will be safer in so many ways and I really like letting this little guy in my belly know that we are just about ready for him to join the world! Not yet, of course, but one step closer anyway! And I can't get over the warranty business. It is sure nice to buy new! We don't even have to pay for an oil change or a state inspection for years to come! Not that they are that much anyway, but it is one less thing to worry about in the coming months and years!

It seats up to 8 but we're going to take the 8th seat out until we really need it so that we'll have more room to get around in there. Arianna said, "it is really big back here," as we drove home last night. And neither of the kids wanted to get out of the car once we got home. Of course, neither did us big kids, we put the little ones down and then went out to play with this new 'toy' of ours. Merry Christmas to us.

Thanks Marco! He sure works hard to keep us all as blessed as we are! He really liked the idea of doing this w/o a loan and saving 5 or 6 grand with a used '05 which was our original plan, but he also saw the value in going this route and just kept saying, "whatever you want honey, this is your car." Max, you must have taught him that!

So there you have it, driving around in my automobile. Who would have EVER thought I'd be excited about a mini-van! Ugh! Life sure takes it's turns! I love it!

Stockings and sillies

Mom, here are the stockings I have been working on. Janell, I am almost done w/ yours so you can hang them up-sorry for the delay, they ran out of my ribbon and I had to wait on that for longer than expected. Now all I have left is names to stitch on.

This is Marco and the kids being silly on Friday. They got to have their Daddy home since I had a migraine which started Wednesday night (just before Marco got back from his business trip to Arkansas)and didn't let go until Friday some time. Weird! The kids had SUCH fun! It cracks me up to see what they find amusing. Here Enzo thought it was the MOST hilarious thing in the world to hold these bubble wands up to his face and make fish lips through them-w/ accompanying sound effects, of course. He giggled his little head off which got the rest of us doing the same. I guess there are reasons to be thankful for migraines. There is nothing like extra time w/ Daddy!

Enzo is growing up so fast!

Enzo decided he needed to get a handle on his facial hair! He loves to be like his Daddy! Marco adores that, though he isn't thrilled that his razor just doesn't perform like it used to; a few too many drops on the hard tile floor can do that to just about anything!

This was Enzo's grooming day. He got a serious haircut (I prefer it long but it'll grow), got into Arianna's dress up jewelry (note the bracelets on his shaving hand), AND her lipstick. You can see he is pretty serious about it too! Cracks me up! I can't believe those blue blue eyes though! When people see Marco and I they can't believe the coloring of our kids. It'll be interesting to see what the next will be!

And this is me at 7 months or something, my sister keeps asking to see how big I am. There you go Heid! Sorry to any of the rest of you who may have NOT wanted to see the buddha! I am almost to the two week visits! The doc wants to see me three weeks from my last visit and then every two weeks thereafter...no more monthlies! Good thing our desk gets installed this Thursday, then we can get going on Enzo's new room! Can't wait!

Let it SNOW!

We were thrilled to get all sorts of snow this past weekend! Arianna and Enzo were right out there w/ Daddy to shovel the walks, if only Enzo could figure out how to hold the shovel w/o use of his thumb he'd be set! Those mitten things are sure tricky to work with!

I love how kids don't seem to notice how cold it really is outside! After all the shoveling we headed down the street for some sledding! Enzo was old enough to REALLY get a kick out of it, though I'm not sure if he loved sledding himself more or watching the BIG boys sled and crash! He is SUCH a fan of anything BIG. He grabs his toes and says, "BIG...toes!" If he asks for a cracker or candy etc. it has to be 'BIG'.

After Marco and I were frozen solid we headed home for hot chocolate. I guess Arianna decided she isn't as opposed to chocolate as previously decided so we made her a cup. She tried a bit of hot chocolate and asked for more marshmallows. Then she finally concluded that she doesn't like the beverage, just the marshmallows. Enzo was all over it though! Of course, he needed BIG marshmallows, but that was no surprise!

Gotta love the winter!

Trimming the tree

We picked up our tree the weekend after Thanksgiving and had a fun time decorating it together. Enzo contributes by offering us the opportunity to REdecorate it several times a day, and now that presents are underneath it he is trying to UNwrap as well. Busy little guy. He isn't only UNdoing though, here you see that he is also really good at cleaning up! He gets the swifer out quite regularly is getting good at knowing where needs to be cleaned.