Recent Pictures

The first snowman of the season. It was finally
not too cold to be outside for longer than 5 minutes.
Unfortunately our snowman only lasted a day.
We had a heat wave the next day and all the snow
melted.


Alexis wanted to see what Frosty tasted like.


Alexis spent some time at the science center. She
was deep in concentration at the time.


Emily has become such a ham. She
will seek out the camera and give her
best "cheese".


18 months already!!!! When did she
start looking like a little girl?

Poor Emily!!!

A few weeks back Emily decided to give us a little scare. As Dean and I were cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, Emily decided to give her climbing skills a try and got up on the chair. Standing up backwards she tipped the chair over backwards and landed right on her face.....nothing to break her fall but her nose. It happened so fast that we only knew something was wrong with the scream. Now I am not one to worry about injuries too badly. I usually will try and brush it off not making a big deal about things. Dean is used to me being the calm collected one so when I said we probably should go to the hospital, he got a little more worried. Emily's poor face started to swell right away and her nose was bleeding......not a great amount luckily. Of course she wouldn't let us put ice on it so I wasn't sure what else to do. I really thought she had broken her nose so I thought we should get x-rays. I also didn't know about letting her go to sleep. The main thing that was on my mind was "concussion". So we all piled into the car for a trip to the ER. To make a long story short, we got in to see the doctor right away and proceeded to have x-rays taken. Boy was that fun!!!! (sarcasm) One popsicle and a $200 co-pay later we found out that Emily was going to be fine. No broken nose.....but a pretty significant bruise. The pictures show it a little better. Emily was a real trooper through all this and Alexis thought it was fun heading to the hospital and having a popsicle too. Needless to say Emily is no longer allowed to climb on chairs. A fairly expensive and painful lesson.


This picture was taken about 4 days after the initial
fall. She's such a trooper.....and still smiling!!!


I don't think we went out in public for 2 weeks.
I didn't want any "questions" !!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Well Christmas and New Year's has come and gone so quickly again. It's always been my favorite time of year and one that always is gone before you know it. Dean, the girls and I spent a nice Christmas here in Cleveland with Dean's family. We spent the morning opening presents and then went over to his parents for a great dinner. The kids had a great Christmas and of course received too many gifts. The next day we started our trip down south to some WARMER weather. We ended up driving this year and actually it wasn't too bad. We left Sunday morning and got to Florida by Monday around 3pm. The 20 hour drive went well as the girls were little angels. I knew that Alexis would be fine with movies, books and other activities but what do you give a 1 year old to do to stay busy for 20 hours in a car seat? Emily was awesome though. She took nice long naps and watched a few movies with Alexis. She read some books and ate. As long as she has food she is fine. Anyway, we made it to Naples and had a great time. Nana and Papa enjoyed some quality time with the girls. They were able to go swimming, head to the beach, visit the manatees and even go to the zoo. Needless to say they stayed very busy.
Dean and I were even able to get a round of golf in too. The week went fast and we really weren't ready to head back to the cold. We hope to get back soon, especially since it has snowed more days than not since we've been back.


Emily and Nana after taking a bath.


Alexis was teaching Nana how to play Angry Birds
on the IPhone. Let's just say she's a tad bit addicted.
Is that bad?


Papa reading Emily a book before getting ready
for bed. Emily LOVES books!


Opening presents at Nana and Papa's house on
Monday. Emily got a new stuffed kitty that
purrs and even walks.


Alexis was all about Toy Story 3 and Legos this
year. I think I enjoyed putting the legos together
as much as she did.


Christmas morning at YiaYia's and Popou's house.
Alexis got a Unicorn pillow pet from MeeMee.


Emily got into opening presents a little more than
last year. Sometimes I think she liked the paper
more than the gifts.



They started the morning out with their stockings.


Alexis sitting on Santa's lap on Christmas Eve.


This was going to be our Christmas Card this year
but I was a little late so I just decided to try again
next year.


A week before Christmas we had Breakfast with
Santa. Alexis you can see was very excited but
Emily wasn't as big a fan. Maybe next year.


Alexis concentrating on making her Christmas
wreath.


"I Love Pancakes......No wait, I Love FOOD!"


The levy in North Olmsted finally passed about
a month ago and Alexis is now able to ride the
bus to school. 1/10 was her first bus ride to
school. It was a little colder than the typical first
day of school.


Emily all bundled and ready to go out and play in
the snow. She reminds me of the kid from The
Christmas Story. I'm sure she wouldn't be able
to get up if she fell.

Tae-Kwan-Do

Alexis and Dean began taking Tae-Kwan-Do this week. Dean wanted to find something that they could do together. Saturday morning was their first class and they were both looking forward to going. I thought Alexis looked so cute in her little outfit. I wasn't able to go and watch because Emily was napping but I am really hoping to see them in action. Alexis came home and was anxious to show me all of her moves. She was showing me her jabs and her kicks. After only one class, I was pretty impressed with what she already learned. Dean came home and I was impressed he could still walk. He's not the most flexible person that I know and I know how sore I get after using muscles that I haven't used in a while. Seems like he did pretty well as well. His instructor even said that he was pretty flexible. I have to admit that I wasn't able to keep a straight face after hearing this. They are anxiously awaiting their next class next week.


Alexis showing some of her moves before class
on Saturday morning.

Halloween 2010

Emily was a little bumble bee this year however
she really didn't want to wear her hood.


Alexis was the "purple witch"! I didn't even know
there was such a thing. This was the only picture
we could get of the two of them. Emily just
won't sit still anymore.


This is Alexis's stash! Wow is all I have to say.
She's sure to have candy at least until next
Halloween.


Alexis and Tyler(neighbor) on their way to get
some goodies.


The kids had a great time this year for Halloween. The weather worked out for another year. I've heard stories from Dean about trick-or-treating in knee deep snow. We just had to wear sweatshirts. I couldn't ask for much more at the end of October. Emily made it around with us for a little while before her little hands became little ice bricks. I dropped her off and then continued with the other two kids. I was happy with Alexis's selection as I've been eating more of the candy than she has been eating. Maybe that's because I only let her have 1-2 pieces a day. I'm usually not that big of a candy eater but if it's in the house I'm likely to eat it.

Summer Zoo Trip

Alexis and our neighbor's son Tyler are pretty much inseparable. From the early morning to the evening they are usually together. We took a trip to the zoo a few weeks ago and here are a few pictures of them at the Dinosaur exhibit.






Wow what a big mouth this is???


Alexis and Tyler got to ride a camel. She really
enjoyed herself. I joked with her and told her that
she smelled like a camel.


Alexis and her "self portrait".

Alexis's 1st day of Kindergarten

It's hard to believe it but Alexis has started Kindergarten and she LOVES it!!!!! She's been going now for about a month and fits right in. She loves her teacher and wants to take something to her daily. Yesterday she wanted to take her an apple. I thought that was only in books and movies. Everyday I see her it's kind of bitter sweet to see how fast she's growing up.


Alexis and her new school outfit. She loves the
camera just like her sister.


Best buddies Alexis and Andrew waiting at the
bus stop.


Dropping Alexis off at school for her first day. This
year she's not able to get bussing because we live
too close. She's hoping that next year she'll be
able to ride.


And off she goes all by herself. I even asked her if
she wanted me to walk her up. She said, "No mommy
I can do it by myself". I must admit that I had
tears in my eyes as I was pulling away from the
school.