Ho Ho Ho...Merry Christmas!

What a fun and exciting few days we had with the kids! Lots of presents and lots of family to see! Auntie Lynn, Auntie Shanni and Auntie Erin came over and brought gifts for the kids. They started to have fun "ripping" paper off presents. They didn't really get the grasp of Christmas just yet!

Xmas Eve we went over to the Manzello's. We had a yummy dinner of lasagna and seafood. The kids loved my lasagna!! They ate every last bite!! They got some really cute outfits from Mummu and Papa as well as from Aunt April & Uncle Scott. I'll be excited to use the gift cards they got from Uncle Greg & Aunt Sheryl to buy them some cute clothes for the spring! I then gave the kids a bath and they put on their Santa outfits sent from Nana and Papa! They were such a HIT! They looked so cute - and were so ready for bed! We had to then drive Dominic home and we all went to bed when we got home!

On Christmas Day, Matthew woke up at 5:30 - so I gave him a bottle and took him downstairs to our bedroom to drink it. I didn't want him to notice the presents before Ari woke up. LOL...Like they would notice...Arianna woke up at 6:15 - so I went to get her and I gave her a bottle and we went to see the presents! The kids loved ripping the presents open - and their faces were really funny! Santa brought Matthew a dumptruck and brought Arianna a Cabbage Patch baby doll. They also got "fridge phonics" (which to tell you is WICKED annoying...) and they got a tabletop activity center. They played with their stuff for a few minutes and then were fascinated with the diaper box. We put them in the diaper box and they stayed in there playing w/each other for about 15 minutes! I guess boxes are a lot of fun! David and I exchanged gifts...and I got a new camera!!! I took 186 pictures Xmas day! LOL I had to play with my new toy!! We fed the kids breakfast and were able to Skype with Nana and Papa before we left.

We got to Grammie's & Grampa Steve's house and Uncle Brian had just arrived. David took his own car this year because I was going to stay over with the kids. The kids opened gifts from Grammie & Grampa Steve and they got a new Rocking Horse! They LOVE it!! They got some clothes and a few other cute things in their stockings too (which they now have personalized stockings for Grammie to fill each year!!) The food was yummy and we enjoyed all of the company of Steve's family and Joan even joined us this year! The kids ate stuffed shells and chicken parm for dinner - (they are like their mama - love italian food!)

We got to stay over and play with Grammie & Grampa - then we headed home early afternoon. We had a busy few days but had such a wonderful 1st Christmas!!

Christmas is coming...the goose is getting fat...

Well - David has been singing that song all week and cracking me up - seeing how I have never in my life heard it before! That's David for ya!

The kids are doing so well - getting so big and well just being as cute as ever!

Arianna has 6 teeth and is into EVERYTHING! She has mastered the art of climbing stairs, and Daddy finally gave in and put the gate up...this was only after she climbed them 10 times, but the 11th time, she stood up on the 4th step and started jumping! We figured that we didn't need any broken bones just yet...even though I was her age when I broke my foot! (maybe a little older) She is so funny - definitely keeps us on our toes!

Matthew also has 6 teeth and is into EVERYTHING! He loves opening and closing drawers, cabinets, doors, etc. He has figured he can get up 2 stairs but then he starts crying becuase he's scared. He has this new thing where he blows (as if he is blowing a candle out) and just keeps doing it - so we'll be all set for his birthday!

The kids are still great eaters! They eat everything!!! Last night, David made Chicken Thighs, squash and couscous - they ate everything - and I didn't have to puree it! They ate the small pieces of chicken and said...mmmmm with every bite! It will be interesting if they like Calamari as much as Dominic does...we'll find out Xmas eve!

Christmas is coming this week, so we have a busy week with Xmas Eve and Xmas Day. Lots of food to make, lots of food to eat, and lots of presents! We received a box from Nana and Papa in Nebraska - I thought it would be funny to put the kids in the box with all the packing peanuts and well it only took 10 seconds for both kids to shove them in their mouths! I did manage to get a picture of them - and Ari has peanuts in her mouth!

That's it for now...I'll post pictures after Xmas!

Happy Holidays!

9 month update

We took the kids to their 9 month doctors apt. today! Here's the info:

Arianna is 18lb 5oz and 29 inches long. She is in the 90th percentile for height and weight...our little peanut is becoming a porker

Matthew is 18lb 7oz and 29 1/2 inches long. Somehow he is only in the 10th percentile for height and weight...probably because boys should be bigger!

The doctor told us to keep feeding Matthew until he turns food away - this isn't good for us becuase he'll eat us out of house and home! LOL She said both kids looked great and were advancing great! She said we can start them on whole milk once they turn 12 months old - so at least 3 more months with formula!

They then had to get 3 shots. 1 was a routine shot and then they got the flu shot and the H1N1 shot. They have to go back in a month for the next round of flu shots. They both cried, but it didn't last too long...until...we went to the lab. Because this is their 9 month apt., they have to have a vial of blood drawn to check their iron levels and anemia. Arianna went first...I held her on my lap and they put a little arm band around her to have her vein pop out...well then they stuck her with the needle and you would have thought someone really hurt her! She cried and screamed and screamed and well...screamed until we were home for 15 minutes! She's our little drama queen! Matthew took it like a man - cried for about 45 seconds and he was over it! It totally broke my heart though - to see those crocodile tears coming down...UGH!

We had our first official "snow day" today! I had the day off from work so I had the bonus of spending it with the kids. I dressed them up in their snow suits and plopped them in the snow. I took a few pictures then dragged them back inside! What a production!! We stayed inside for the rest of the day - until we went to the doctor. We got about 10 inches of snow, and now it is raining with thunder and lightening...very strange!

David and I got to have a weekend "away" this past weekend. We went on a bus trip to NYC with the college. We walked around and window shopped. The weather was really bad (rainy with occasional snow), so we spent 30.00 on umbrellas - since ours kept breaking! Then on Sunday we had a holiday ball that we go to every year. Joyce and Mike ended up having the kids Saturday - Monday. They were pretty tired, but they loved it! I had a hard time come Monday a.m. - I really missed waking up with the kids! When I got to my inlaws house after work on Monday - the kids were so excited to see me. Arianna got on her knees and leap frogged across the room clapping her hands and laughing. Matthew looked up with a huge smile and did a 1/2 laugh, 1/2 cry type thing as to say "My mommy's finally home!"

Well that's about it for now - the holidays are approaching quickly and before we know it they'll have their 1st birthday! So sad...my babies are growing up!