Christmas Tree

So, I'm a little behind... This has been a very busy Christmas. We decided to get our tree locally this year. We didn't trek up north and cut our own. So, we got to the lot and let the kids out so they could help us scope out a tree. Cecilia of course went to the largest tree, which was really quite full and beautiful. So, we brought that one home only to find that it is quite a bit taller than our ceilings... Matthew ran next door to the neighbors to borrow a saw and we cut 15 inches off. It then fit, but with no room for a star. We just have a nice bow this year :) Here are the kids poking around the tree lot.

I Love Christmas

Cecilia and Thomas are standing in front of the tree swaying/dancing, listening to "Welcome Christmas" from the Grinch :)

Thomas, Young Jedi

Matthew came home early today because he had surgery on his gums... no fun. So, he was watching Empire Strikes Back with the kids. When they got to the light saber battle between Luke and Darth Vader, Thomas turned to me:

Thomas: "Mom, here's the deal," said emphatically. "If Darth Vader comes out of the tv, you need to get my light saber real quick--my green one... so there will still be a Luke here!"

Me: "Good idea... it's good that you have a plan."

He then insisted that I get the light saber out so he could join in. He was battling Darth Vader from our living room. :)

Plante Christmas Party

Here are some pictures from the Plante Christmas party on Sunday. The kids had a blast. Cecilia decided she loved Alisha (Matthew's cousin) and pretty much stayed by her side... she always seems to like the pretty young women. The first picture is Eliana at the end of the night... looking a bit tired with Gramma, but I still thought it was a cute picture.

Moving Up in the World

I put Eliana down for a nap yesterday afternoon, but she didn't really want to sleep yet. I soon heard her talking and then yelling over the monitor. So, when I went upstairs, this is how I found her! She pulled herself up to standing in the crib. I've only seen her do this once before (and not in the crib) and she really didn't pull herself up all the way. She was so very proud of herself :)

I've Been Tagged

I thought I had been tagged by Eileen to give some info about my hubby and me... She actually meant her other friend, Jessica, but she encouraged me to go along anyway. It's kind of fun, so enjoy!

Husband's Name: Matthew

How Long Married: 9.5 years

Dated How Long: 6 years

Taller: Matthew (5' 9"), Me (5' 6")

Who Can Sing the Best: Hmmm... Well, I'd say he's a better musician. We both love to sing, though.

Smarter: Well, he's working on his PhD... I only have half a Master's... I'm way better at directions and common sense, though :)

Laundry: Me. He used to do the laundry back in the day when I was working and he was a student, but that was a while ago now...

Paying Bills: Me

Who Sleeps on the Right side of the Bed: Stage right or house right? I'm house right, but stage left.

Mows the Lawn: The condo association where we dutifully pay our $205 a month... (Can't wait to buy a house some day.)

Cooks Dinner: That would be me. Unless it's meatloaf, then Matthew usually makes it.

First to Admit They're Wrong: TBD :)

Who Kissed First: Matthew kissed me. It was Alien Night (funny story) 1993 and he walked me back to my car (since I was his ride home and he didn't have his license yet...). He gave me a smooch before we got in the car. Then I got another that night when he asked me out. I said yes, of course. I was excited to be his girlfriend :)

Who Wears the Pants: Well, I guess he wears pants every day. Although, I'm not really a huge fan of skirts, so I really do prefer pants too. I like to be comfortable, you know?

Cecilia Sets Her Mama Straight

Cecilia: "How do reindeer fly?"
Me: "Hmmm... I'm not really sure. They must be magic because reindeer don't really fly."
Cecilia: "Oh."
Me: "Oh, I know, maybe Tinkebell helps them... you know, she sprinkles her pixie dust on them!"
Cecilia: "Tinkerbell's not real mom."
Me: "Ah, good point."

A Morning of Play

After breakfast, the kids usually head to the living room to play. Cecilia and Thomas play extremely well together (not all the time, of course... but most of the time and especially lately). They generally like figures and imaginative play. Cecilia loves Disney princess and has most of the little figurines. Thomas loves Star Wars and has a bunch of the Galactic Heroes. Recently, they discovered some of my old dolls and have been loving them. Here are some pictures of them with my sad looking old dolls... :)

Eliana, in the mean time, just loves to be near the kids or me. She's able to crawl all around and so she can make sure she's in the middle of the action. The smiling shot is of her crawling towards me. One of her other favorite activities is crawling under our table (which is glass, so she can look up at us) and pulling herself up at the foot of Thomas' high chair. She looks so proud.

We Three Kings

We took out our book of Christmas Carols, and the kids like to look through and request songs. Thomas asked for "We Three Kings" and has not stopped requesting it since... Matthew found the Claymation Christmas version on youtube. That's now their favorite thing to watch (even more than Star Wars legos videos, which is saying a lot). Enjoy!

First Snow & Christmas

We had some real snow for the first time on Sunday afternoon. It didn't accumulate too much, but enough for the kids to admire. Thomas was very excited that now it must be Christmas. We explained to him that those two things were not synonymous. We thought he understood...

Now, the next day... Thomas didn't get enough sleep and woke up at 5:30am (about an hour earlier than normal). He came into our room and was kind of grouchy. He eventually headed downstairs, at which point he burst into tears. He came back to our room crying, "There are no presents. Santa forgot to bring presents."

Sometimes it's hard not to smile... It was really quite devastating to our little guy, though.

My Kiddos

Matthew left his camera out for me today. I was just playing around. Here's what I got. I love the look on Eliana's face on the first one. Cecilia had just given her a zerbert.

Thoughts on Marriage.... from a 4 Year Old

Yesterday morning I was checking one of the photography blogs that I watch. I saw a family picture with a boy who had his Geo Trax Grand Central Station spread all around him. I was showing Thomas the picture since he has the same train set. Cecilia wanted to come see. When she saw it, she said, "He looks like a nice boy... I think I want to marry him now." To which I replied, "Well, you'll have to talk to your father about that." "Yeah, I know," she replied.

St. Cecilia Day

We celebrated St. Cecilia day last Friday (it was actually Saturday, but Matthew had a wedding to photograph). On the kids' feast days, they get to choose some special treat for dessert. Cecilia found this Peppermint Parfait in her kid cookbook. She's been wanting to make it for so long. Here are some pictures of the kids enjoying their treat.

Little People, Big Personalities

I am so amused watching our children grow up and figure out the world. One of my absolute favorite things is listening to children figure out language. Thomas is definitely at that age right now. The other day, we were leaving Toys R Us and Thomas was astounded by the doors on the way out. He exclaimed, "I didn't know the doors opened by themselves!" Then he told me, "Mom, I'm very impressed of that." I love it!

Cecilia's been amusing me lately too. I really think she must be destined to be a lawyer. She's very logical. On this same trip to Toys R Us, I was reviewing the rules (no asking for things, although you can request to put things on the Christmas list). Cecilia told me she wanted to put this Fisher Price dinosaur on her Christmas list. Now, this thing is huge and loud and ridiculous... it's on display for the kids to play with at the store. So, I started to tell her, "Well, first of all, we have no place to put it. Secondly, it's a very expensive toy to ask for." She was quick with her response, "Well, first of all, the living room.... Secondly, it's not expensive, the elves will just make it!" When she started listing her reasons by number, I just about lost it. She tried this tactic on my later in the night too. Cracks me up.

Since I'm talking about kid personalities, I don't want to leave Eliana out either. I've already commented on her Italian temper (which is short...). However, she is really the happiest baby I've ever met. She has the best smile and laugh I've ever seen/heard. She seems very attentive of people and is certain to give anyone a smile who tries to get one. She's very independent and surprisingly mobile at a young age (which the other two were not). I was laughing this weekend as we got together with the big Italian Lomanno family; Eliana's my first baby who's perfectly suited to the Lomanno clan. She's in heaven in a room full of people who all want to touch her and hold her and feed her! :)

Eliana's Eating Habits

Eliana, at just 8 months, has just decided to forsake baby food. That's for babies, right? Well, I don't need to make any more special baby food, so that's a good thing. Except that she doesn't have any teeth... so she now has a much more limited diet. (I could smoosh all kinds of things up and feed them to her when she was eating baby food.) Her normal diet now consists of 1/2 piece of toast, handful of cheerios, and half a banana for breakfast; 1/2 grilled cheese sandwich and handful of peas for lunch; pasta for dinner. I know this sounds like a lot of food for such a little person. She does eat a lot, but probably about one third of all her food ends up on the floor, her high chair, or under our shoes... She, of course, wants to pick things up herself, although she will allow us to feed her with a fork if it's real grown-up food. Here's some shots of Auntie (who came home to show off her new engagement ring!!! congratulations Marissa) feeding her some pasta. She's pretty funny when she's eating... her Italian temper comes out. She'll yell if you don't feed her fast enough. Hey, she's a growing little girl and it's frustrating to have to rely on another person to feed you.

Even More from Family Shoot

Here are some more :)

More from Family Shoot

Here are some more of the photos our friend Carly Rose took of us up in Meredith, NH. There were a lot, so you'll probably see more later this week. Enjoy!

Comments on Louis Armstrong

I love Christmas music, so I generally take it out much before I should (all while commenting on how ridiculous it is that Santa's already at the mall...). We were listening to Louis Armstrong singing Christmas songs over lunch today. Here's where our conversation ended up.

Thomas: "Will we get to meet Louis Armstrong some day?"
me: "No, honey, he's not alive anymore."
Thomas: "He's dead?"
me: "Yes."
Cecilia: "Will he come back to life?... because God came back to life."
me: "You're right, God did, but Louis Armstrong won't..."

Aunt Gail's Wedding

Gail and Michael were married on Sunday. It was the first Jewish wedding ceremony we had been to and it was beautiful. The kids were extremely well behaved and had a lot of fun. Cecilia danced the whole time... with whatever cute, young girl she could find :) Thomas danced with mom, Memere, and Renee (in the picture below). Eliana had many, many admirers as well.

Election Day

We took the kids to vote with us. Cecilia has that big smirk because she was just told she could get a sticker. They always like to go into the booth with mom and dad.

It was an absolutely beautiful fall day in NH. It was up in the mid-60's, so we tried to spend time outside. Matthew took the kids for another walk when we got back from voting.