Thanksgiving 2017

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are enjoying a relaxing day (or maybe out braving the Black Friday crowds for a good deal). Gianni and I went out this morning hoping to get some shopping done and while we did put a dent in the kids Christmas stuff, none of it was on sale. But having a morning to get it done was very appreciated!

The weekend before Thanksgiving we went to Sandy and Thierry's new home for the weekend. Every year in Stamford the Macy's Parade balloons get inflated as a trial and this is our second year going with the kids. Seeing their excitement as they watch Elmo come to life is so much fun! The three kids had a blast together and while the balloons and sitting in Santa's chair were awesome, somehow hiding in Sandy's new kitchen cabinets was even better :)

We had another great holiday here in town with family. Thanksgiving morning we had Gianni's family over for coffee and a light breakfast while we watched the parade. Gabriella and Elliot both went down for naps before we headed to my parents for dinner in the afternoon. This is the first year that Gabby seems to understand the concept of holidays; she asks what we are celebrating (and whether or not there are presents). It seems like a good age to really try and stress the importance of giving and being thankful for how blessed we are.  The week before Thanksgiving we filled a bag of food to bring to the local turkey and food drive. When she realized that the drop off was at a school right near my parents she announced that she thought Nana and Grampy really needed our food instead. Sigh. Baby steps :)

Back to Thanksgiving. We had a delicious dinner and then Santa made a quick stop while he was testing out the sleigh to bring the kids Advent calendars and Christmas jammies. It was completely adorable and another great memory.

The holidays get better and better each year as our family grows  and the kids get older. We have a lot of fun things planned for December too!

Halloween 2017

Happy Halloween!! We had a busy and fun-filled day yesterday. The morning started out with a Halloween party at Gabriella's school. I was one of the parent volunteers so I got to spend the morning with her class running some of the games we had made. We had pumpkin bowling, catch the pumpkin balloon, and a candy corn ring toss game. It was absolutely adorable and I loved seeing Gabby interact with her teachers and classmates. Every once in awhile she'd look around to find me and give the biggest smile.

Once Gianni was home, we had pizza and chips for dinner and then he headed out with her to do some trick-or-treating. Elliot was dressed up for a few minutes but he is ready for bed these days by 6:30 so we kept him home. Gabby was in heaven dressed up as Cinderella and she insisted that Gianni wear a crown too and be a prince. It was so cute! They were out for about 45 minutes, hit up all the neighbors, and then came home with a tired but very happy girl. This is the first year that she really understands holidays so her excitement over Halloween has us really looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas!

And our little lion started out November with his first tooth! We knew it was close but this morning he woke up and his first little tooth has broken through his gums. It's his bottom tooth and he has spent all day rubbing his tongue over it. He handled it like a champ and besides drooling like a dripping faucet and chewing on everything, he hasn't been complaining. Love these little milestones!

Happy November!