Our little butter ball!

So stylish!

Carla driving and playing Leapster

Carla Cookie Monster

Enjoying a teething biscuit...Thanks Aunt Jenny!

Ooops!

See April 5th for Anna's family birthday party - somehow I missed posting it earlier!

NY - Day 3

Finally, one last swim and then we were off to Cracker Barrel to have breakfast with our old friends Felicia and Tom and Mackenzie, and beautiful, new, new baby Rebecca! Our last stop was Saint Mary's for 10:30 mass, so lovely; we really miss celebrating mass there! Such a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, a cozy and open (strange combo) church, and wonderful music!

This was the first time I was back, and I was reminded that we really lived in a nice neighborhood, went to a great church, and had great jobs with great friends. Oh, and this is crazy - I miss our Walmart! It was so close, clean, and friendly! It was our one-stop shop, though we stopped about 6 days a week! And alas, we LOVE being close to family here in Cleveland NOW, it has been a dream come true! Being away really makes us appreciate being back!

Sadly, the ride home was a bit rough. We stopped a lot in the first half, and happily we evened out our timing b/c we drove the second half straight through! Early on, Anna was a little crazy - she started yelling "Carla!" over and over until she woke up, and this happened more than once. It was something - there was like nothing we could do to stop her! We were ALL happy to be home!

PS: for some strange reason, my hair decided to be curly this weekend - cool!

NY - Day 2

First we visited Nana Joan, our old (as in previous, rather than age!, though we do call her "Nana") neighbor for lunch. Then we stopped back to the hotel for another swim. Then it was up to Skidmore to visit with Aunt Debbie. The main event - the Skidmore Women's Soccer Alumni Game - the current team won, but the retirees are getting close to a win! Somehow no photos! Then it was a much better night of sleep for everyone - Mike went to bed with the girls before 8! I had a fun night celebrating my friend Sarah's (who I used to coach with) soon-to-be baby girl! I also had fun catching up with all the girls - who are all grown up and are in or heading into the real world!

PS: I tried and tried unsuccessfully to make the the picture with lots of people biggest, oh well.

Saratoga Springs - Our first road trip as a family of 4!

On the nine-hour trip there, they were two perfect angels. Then there was the first night at the hotel. Very challenging! Carla went to sleep and Anna had a bit more trouble. Once in the night Anna started yelling over and over until Carla woke up. Luckily she fell back asleep quickly. Anna on the other hand, spent a lot of time taking turns cuddling with Mike and me, until she finally fell asleep snuggled up with Mike. A few hours later, Carla woke up for the day, shortly followed by Anna. The rest of the day was a tiring one for everyone...

Lots of fun in the pool all weekend!

Carla not actually signing "more", still cute :)

Tonight Carla kept doing the "more" sign at dinner. So cute! Of course once we got out the camera to take a video - forget about it, she was done. Maybe next time :) Don't miss that cute tongue at the end!

Happy Easter to all!

The girls both had a ball finding their Easter baskets from the Easter bunny!



Then Anna enjoyed an exciting egg hunt at Aunt Terese's out in the beautiful weather!

Egg Coloring!

Ok, so of course Easter egg coloring with cousins was so fun! Before we went and after we told Anna what we would be doing at cousins, coloring eggs, Anna recapped: "so we are all going to be at cousins and we are all going to sit at the table and get some paper and some crayons and we are all going to color Easter eggs!", so cute! Isn't it amazing seeing a little bit of how their minds work!?

Just a few notes about the pictures just below: in these pictures Anna was "wearing her bride" (wedding veil) and wasn't the lighting nice?, so you can so clearly her pretty smile and messy hair. I through in Carla's shots to share a glimpse of the jungle gym that she makes of our kitchen table and chairs, always with her signature out-curled tongue of joy and concentration. Also, notice the lovely flowers...they lasted beautifully for a whole month - yeah Costco! The secret - change the water every other day or so - secret to actually doing that - only put one or two inches of water in each time, so you really have to refill it!

The Children's Museum with Gramma!

Our baby is quite the little swimmer!

...not that you can tell from these photos! But she was brave on the big boat! She loves playing during "gym time" too!



And Anna is riding on her new bicycle!

Anna is a darling little helper!

Anna and Aubrey's Playgroup Birthday Party!

Anna's Family Birthday Party

What a fun day celebrating our darling together! Our little doll is growing into a young lady :)

Food Funnies

Earlier, Anna digging into yummy spaghetti, and later, Gramma, Maureen, Annie, Aunt Terese, and Aunt Maureen digging into some FRIED Oreos! We had a fun night at the Special Bones fund raiser and raised lots of funds for the cause! Thanks so much to everyone who donated!

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY ANNA KATHRYN!

April Fools!

...we forgot to play some tricks! Still, we had a great day playing at Aubrey's house on this lovely day.