St. Nicholas Day

The Plante Christmas party was on St. Nicholas Day this year. Memere got to meet Anna for the first time. Anna was perfectly content sitting in her lap for quite some time. Later, St. Nicholas left some presents for the kids. They all got books and the next picture shows Eliana cracking up about something in her nativity book. She's hysterical; she actually laughs like that! What a fun kiddo.

Such a Boy

Cecilia: Has your grandmother already died?

Me: Yes.

Cecilia: Was she my great-grandmother?

Me: Yes.

Cecilia: I remember her because I've seen pictures.

Thomas: What did she look like?

Cecilia: She had white curly hair. Her face was kind of round.

Thomas: Oh, so if her head fell off, it would roll?

Hmmm.... well, I guess so. He certainly thinks differently than I do. I guess it's a boy thing?

Beautiful Girls

I decided I needed to practice using Matthew's camera more and there was some nice light coming in through our slider. Anna was just laying on her mat in the living room and Eliana came to check out what was going on. (And, yes, I know Eliana needs a haircut...)

Afternoon with Eliana

My mother took the two older kids to her house one day, so Eliana and I got some alone time while Anna was sleeping. We decided to bake; Eliana loved it when I used the mixer :) She was a good helper and very enthusiastic.

Cecilia's costume

So, here's the picture of Cecilia dressed in my old costumes. She had fun looking through my old stuff when I took the bag out before Halloween. You can see the pile of costumes behind her. I took this picture before she put the fishnet stockings on. :)

Halloween

Here are the kiddos before heading out to trick-or-treat in Londonderry. I'd say these photos show the kids' personalities pretty well. Thomas is a very serious Jedi (he takes his Star Wars very seriously). Eliana just laughs and smiles all the time; she's also a goofy monkey. Cecilia is very dramatic and insisted on striking this pose. Their personalities are all very distinct. I'm eager to see how Anna will fit into the mix (although I'm enjoying the cuddly baby phase right now--her big smiles are just melting me).

The weather was unseasonably warm for NH--70 degrees! It was great. Anna was a skeleton, but I don't think we got a picture of her. She didn't actually go out with us on this day.

Anna's Photo Shoot

I know this is a ridiculous number of photos, but I just couldn't decide! I love this little outfit. Adorable.

Introducing Anna Lucia

Anna Lucia Lomanno
September 29, 2009
10:40pm
7 lbs. 9 oz.
20 in.

Here are the much-anticipated pictures of Anna. We can already tell how sweet she is. She's very quiet and content. Aside from the expected sleep-deprivation, I'm doing quite well. The kids all love her. Eliana goes up to her and yells "hi!" every time she goes by her and gives her lots of kisses. Thomas tells me, "I just love Anna Lucia." Cecilia is my big helper and will hold her any chance she gets. Overall, I'd say we're all transitioning very well. (Although we haven't all ventured out together yet... that'll be later today.)

Babies on the Brain

We've all had babies on our mind around here lately... hmmm, I wonder why. Even Eliana has been obsessed with babies. I wonder if she actually understands; it almost seems as though she does. She loves seeing other babies, pointing to my belly and exclaiming "baby!" and showing me where the new baby will do "nonny". Cecilia and Thomas are both so excited. Today we looked through their old baby pictures to post for the blog. First is Cecilia, then Thomas, then Eliana. I wonder what this new little one will look like! Anyone want to make some guesses?

Kiddos on the Couch

Here's a cute pictures of the kiddos on the couch. They were watching a Baby Einstein video. I realized a little while ago that I had not shown Eliana any videos and the older kids always loved the Baby Einstein videos and their music. We put one on and it was a hit (although Eliana still doesn't have a very long attention span). Thomas was lounging. I absolutely love watching the kids interact together. In this picture, I love that Eliana and Cecilia werelooking at each other during some part of the video they were excited about. They are all so loving towards each other; it's beautiful.

The Weekend

The weekend in Belmont was so much fun for so many reasons. The kids all had a blast and played really well together. They were able to run around the house playing games, play wiffle ball, swim in the lake, and enjoy s'mores by the fire. Fr. Hugh Vincent brought a big bag of meat and we went to the local farm stand a couple times. We ate very well all weekend :) Then, after the kids went to bed, the grown-ups got to visit and catch up (and watch the 80's radio channel on the tv). It was really one of the most relaxing, wonderful vacations I've ever had! Here are some pics.

The Godfather

Fr. Hugh Vincent is Cecilia and Thomas's godfather. They get to see him about once a year. This year, Father suggested that we meet up with the Kennedys up in Belmont. Matthew's parents were gracious enough to share the house with us for a long weekend. It was wonderfully relaxing and fun. Here are some pictures of the kids with Fr. Hugh Vincent.

First Day of School

Here are the photos from our first day of school. I also included the pile of books we used on the first day (not the complete pile). Cecilia is now doing 1st grade school work, Thomas is doing some preschool work, and Eliana didn't want to be left out either. She was working on her scribbling :) We have officially finished our first week (4 day week) and all is going very well so far. Let's hope it continues this way! Both the big kids are very proud of the work they're doing, which is fun to see.

Toyota

I haven't posted in some time. I've been quite tired lately and school has started this week for us. Once we started school, I also started having a "quiet time" for everyone after lunch. Eliana is already napping then. Cecilia and Thomas take a quiet hour in bed. They can read or play quietly. (It's very helpful for a pregnant mama to have an hour to sit down after lunch.) I usually put the classical radio station on up in my bedroom for Cecilia while she's resting. Today she told me that, while she was listening to the radio, she heard that if I want a Toyota, I need to get it soon because it ends soon. I thanked her and then asked her if she knew what a Toyota was. She didn't. When I told her, she wanted to know when we were going to get a new car. :)

Concord Market Days

We took the kids to Concord Market Days. They had fun, although we got caught in a rain storm pretty far away from our car. Thomas had a dragonfly painted on his arm and Cecilia got two butterflies on her cheeks. The highlight was the balloon man, though... until Thomas's sword popped. Very tragic.