Away in a Manger...the performance of a lifetime!

Today was Patrick's Christmas show. He was an awesome sheep. He sang every word and did every dance move. We were so proud. He's a natural. Takes after his Mom and YeYe, that's for sure!

Countdown to Christmas...

This year I am finally excited for Christmas. I feel like every year I get a little crazy towards the end and it makes me lose the excitement of the day. I think it helps that Patrick is beyond excited for Christmas to come. Allyson isn't much for showing a lot of excitement. Even when the best gift ever is under the tree, she will just smirk. I look forward to screams and jumping up and down...and I can absolutely see Patrick giving us that this year. (As long as Santa comes through with that yellow dump truck and pillow pet)

Patrick's extreme excitement is more helpful then he realizes, too. I always get weepy around this time. Watching certain shows...making certain foods...special ornaments and Christmas tree skirts. The memories they bring back are bittersweet. We know that Grandma Alice and YeYe are with us all the time. But God we wish they were here.

We can't wait for Christmas Eve dinner (the menu is in the planning stages..I'm getting hungry just thinking about it). Ron always outdoes himself, so I can't wait!

I think Ron and I will be the ones who can't sleep that night. Hopefully this year the kids will wake up on their own. I hate having to wake them both up to open presents. They are supposed to be waking us at at 4am!

This year I decided to go back to my childhood and join my family for Christmas breakfast (in my pajamas of course). It will be a lot of traveling (Me driving to Matawan at 8am by myself...then back to PA...then off to Manalapan) but worth it. We tried to start our own Christmas Breakfast tradition, but I just need my Dad's breakfast this year.

I think another thing about this year that is getting me more weepy and sentimental then usual is that my baby is turning 13. THIRTEEN! I just can't believe it. But I am so thankful that she is such a wonderful and loving person. She has certainly tested my patience over the years and I'm sure will test me more as she gets older, but this year she has just blossomed into a young lady. And a great one at that! I hope we can make her big day extra special this year.

So the countdown is on...17 days to go!

It's Santa!!!

Well, as you can see from the new blog pic, we went to see Santa on Saturday.
It worked out perfectly. We bribed Patrick by telling him if he smiled nicely and did everything the girl told him to do at Picture People, that we would go see Santa afterwards. Well when that photographer started snapping, he turned into America's Next Top Model. As soon as she finished, he asked for Santa. So, as promised, that is what he received.
The Quakerbridge Mall Santa was awesome. There was no line, and he spent so much time talking to Patrick. (And Ally...but you know...)
Patrick was THRILLED! He sat right on his lap...told him what he wanted...and kept the conversation going.
We are so excited for Christmas this year. Patrick is counting down until he can wake up to all of his presents that Santa is going to leave. That excitement is priceless.

Father/Daughter Dance

Another Father Daughter Dance tonight...my baby isnt looking much like a baby anymore...

THREE!

I can't believe Patrick is 3 years old already. Time certainly does fly. What an amazing little man he's turning out to be. Of course he has his moments of screaming fits, but overall he is such a sweet, loving, funny, smart, and musical little boy.
His birthday party was a success. He could not stop talking about it on Sunday. He absolutely loves my nieces boyfriend, Fireman Lou. (as do we) The guys were so great with the kids. We were so impressed and grateful for their time.

BOO!

Happy Halloween everyone! WE all had a great day!

Never a dull moment....

Last night Patrick fell in the bathroom and hit his head on the bathtub. He cried for a second but was fine. We didn't think anything of it after that.
This morning I got a call from daycare that he had been crying that his head hurt. Then he would start doing something and just stop and grab his head (the side he hit) and cry that it hurt. So I left work and called the pediatrician. They told me to get him to the ER for a cat scan right away.
He was sooo good. I mean if we didn't already have a dog, he was "you deserve a puppy" good.
He didnt cry once. Didn't whine. Nothing. Just hung out until they took us in for the scan. He thought he was so cool on the wheelchair...waving to everyone like a celebrity. They were going to sedate him but decided to give him a chance to try it without. He was great. He didn't even move an inch. He thought it was the coolest thing. He said it was like a spaceship.
Cat scan was clear. The doctor said no concussion. It could have been a headache from the hit, but his ear was looking a little red as well, so she gave him some medication and off we went. Here's some camera phone shots from our day.

Fall Fun!

Today we headed to Snipes Farm for our annual pumpkin and apple picking. We usually go to Shady Brook Farms, but we decided to spice it up and try Snipes. It wasn't the real pumpkin patch like they have at Shady Brook, but they had a ton of stuff for the kids to do...and the apple picking was right next to the "pumpkin patch" so it was very convenient. The kids had a great day. Ally had her first taste of real apple cider, we all enjoyed some freshly made pumpkin doughnuts (YUM), and did well with our pumpkin purchase.

It's Daddy's Birthday!!!!

We had a lot of fun celebrating Ron's birthday today.
We surprised him with dinner at Arirang. (More so b/c it's one of the only places we can go that Patrick doesn't throw a fit. He LOVES Hibatchi) But also because Allyson and I wanted to make sure he was thoroughly embarrassed by the singing waiters and light show.
We love you! Hope you had a great birthday!

Stop...Drop...and Roll!

Today was Fire Prevention Day at the Old Bridge Firehouse. Yes, the firehouse in our town has Open House for Fire Prevention Week, but I have been going to Open House at this firehouse since I was little. Allyson went when she was little. So it was only fitting that Patrick have his first experience there as well. It was worth the drive.
As expected, Patrick had a great time! Now he's all ready for his Fireman birthday party.

Another year of wedded bliss...

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband!
I don't think anyone on Earth has a better one. It's just not possible. (No offense to any of our readers who are husbands or have husbands, but really....Ron is the best one)
Can't wait to celebrate on Friday night. I can't think of a more fitting place to be then with you and Butchy. :)
"Got it from the top....it's nothing you can stop....Lord you know they made a fine connection. They love each other."

Major Breakthrough!!!!

I think it's now safe to say that Patrick is potty trained. It's unreal! Thursday and Friday he went on the potty all day at school but wouldnt go at home. But yesterday he had a breakthrough. He wanted to wear his big boy underpants all day and stayed dry! Even through a nap! We're so proud of him! I'd say he's pretty proud, too! What do you think....

It just can't be...

...that my baby started 7th grade today. Seventh Grade! God it even sounds old. I am having a hard time this year. I had gotten better over the years...not getting emotional the first day of 4th...5th...even 6th grade. But SEVENTH? 7th grade? No matter how I type it, it still sounds as bad. I just can't believe it. I mean, come on...wasn't just yesterday she was starting Kindergarten?
Look...look at this face...

And here she is this morning....

Fun in NYC

Patrick is constantly asking (more like begging/screaming/crying) to go on the train to New York. So Saturday we decided to take a trip in and see Peggy. Ron and I left Patrick with Peggy (and her awesome playground at Lincoln Towers) and we went to see the Grateful Dead exhibit at the NY Historical Society. (Which was really cool. We really enjoyed it) Then Peggy brought Pat over and met us and we went to the "amusement park" in Central Park where the ice skating rink is in the winter. Pat had so much fun on all the rides. As did Peggy; since she vounteered to be the one who joined him on the rides he wasn't allowed on by himself.
Then we headed to Mickey Mantel's for lunch and headed home.
It was a great day. Patrick was worn out. But when he woke up just as we got on the train, the next 3 hours was: "I WANT TO GO BACK TO PEGGY'S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Thankfully it stopped when he went to bed.
Here are some pics...

Genius or master manipulator.....

Ok, so clearly our son thinks he has this figured out. He hasn't touched the potty since getting his prize for the poop. We are assuming he is thinking, 'well, if I wait a while longer, then go on the potty again, I can get another toy...then another...those idiots will buy me anything I want as long I keep stringing them along.' Well he is sadly mistaken.

POOP HAPPENS!

Patrick pooped in the potty!!!! I know some people might ask why I would post this information, but others will understand our excitement! To the people who would ask why...I say to you - be happy I didnt post the picture I took. (Ron wasn't home, so we HAD to show Daddy!) He still isnt 100% there yet, but I NEVER thought he would hit this milestone so fast. Hopefully this is the beginning of being fully trained!!

And since he has the best memory, he was quick to remind me that he gets a big prize for going poop in the potty. So tomorrow we will be off to Toys R Us.

Summer Concerts

If there's one thing we love about the summer, it's that it's concert season. So far we've been to Further and Dave Matthews. Both shows were awesome. Although it was a million degrees at Citifield for DMB, the seats were great.
Next up is Heart in Atlantic City.
We just wanted to post some pics from our nights out..

AHOY MATEYS!

After more then 2 years of planning, the cruise has come and gone. I really can't believe it's over. But it was a great time. Although Ron and I wished that Patrick was old enough to go to the Kids Club, and wasn't throwing fits every 5 minutes, we did what we could to enjoy ourselves. Mainly by getting out after Pat went to sleep and all the girls (Ally, Brittany, Alexis, and Emily) would hang out in our room. It was so wonderful to be able to spend quality time with my family. Our lives are so busy and we never really have the time anymore. It meant so much to me to be able to really get to know my nieces and nephews as adults, to have all of my brothers and sisters together laughing and having so much fun together.
Allyson had a great time with her cousins. They had a lot of freedom on the ship. The teen club was awesome. They loved being able to go eat lunch together in the restaurant with their boring parents, walk around the ship and do whatever they wanted. It was perfect for them.
Patrick liked the room and probably would have stayed in it the whole time if we didnt make him do things. He even came on stage the with me to sing karaoke. But most of all, he LOVED our waiter, Irwin. Irwin was THE BEST! He took such good care of Pat and was always one step ahead of him. He knew the food he liked, when to bring it, and what to do to make him smile. The last night on the ship, he kept hugging him. Even this morning, Patrick was asking when he was going to see Irwin. If we ever cruise again, I want to find this guy!
Bermuda was beautiful. We wish we had more time there, but have already talked about going back. THe people are so friendly and we never felt unsafe in any area.
I could go on and on about the trip, but in a nutshell it was wonderful.
My parents were so happy all week. Their party was a success. And my Dad was already trying to convince us to go on a cruise to Alaska next. (To which we all looked at him with the same "are you insane" loko on our faces.)
What I took away from this week was just how important family is. And that even though we are all quite different, and sometimes have issues with each other, we all love each other so much and I hope that we can all stay as close as we were this week.
There are over 150 pictures from our vacation. I am going to attempt to put up a slideshow, but I have them all on Snapfish, so I will send the link out.

The Final Product

Well here it is....1978 and 2010. My mom wins for closest matching ensemble. I win for most embarrassing re-creation.

Father's Day!

First off...I have to say my personal Happy Father's Day to the best Dad in the world. I can go on and on about how wonderful you are. We love so much!

Today was a great day. We started off with gifts for Daddy in the morning. His very cool Grateful Dead Hawaiian shirt was a hit. As were the "saw" shaped knife and "circular saw" pizza cutter. They are hysterical.
Then we headed to Kathy's for an afternoon of fun. The kids had a great time swimming. And the adults had a great time relaxing in the air conditioned house.
Here are some pics of our day. (Including my BBQ cupcakes I made)