Daddy's Girls

Anna and Carla are SO in love with Daddy :)

New Sink and Old Friends!

Our new sink arrived (to be installed along with new kitchen counter tops in June - yeah!) and the box provided lots of early morning fun!


Then our friends Aubrey and Dane came to play, and everyone got along so well together! We've missed our Donovan buddies :)


PS- How funny is Carla with the pacie?! It was her first time trying one and she's almost 2! Same sort of thing with the dolly's baby bottle!

Horsie Rides

What an awesome, awesome day!

Back from a great trip, and oh, the beautiful weather! Anna probably multiplied her biking miles by 100 with our trip to the park! Usually, she just rides at the top of the driveway, and I don't think she's ever ridden past the sidewalk right in front of our house. She rode the whole way there (more than a mile!) and back (another mile!)! And Carla walked! Though Carla, sweet thing, didn't quite make it back. I gave her a ride for the last probably quarter mile, and as you can see, she fell asleep on my shoulders! Precious :) Taking that photo was a tricky challenge :) Carla was so cute helping Anna with her bike, pulling her! -- or as Anna was saying "helping a lending hand" ...or something like that (I think she was going for "Carla's lending a helping hand"). They had a great time at the park too, so much to look forward to for sweet summer days! Thank you God for the blessing of this gorgeous day!

Big Sister

Anna is really becoming quite the big sister. I think she will be genuinely helpful when our newest baby arrives in July. The Grossner girls always need "a story" when they are going to be going potty for a while. Thanks for your help Anna!

Our Trip to Lexington, KY

Funky focus seemed just right!

All she needed were two fingers up making the peace sign!

Had to get out the camera--

When I saw Carla with Anna's shirt around her waist, some cute too-big boots, and Daddy's leather glove pointing at me, I knew I had to delay getting ready to go to out for a minute to take a few pics! Anna with that flower in her hair was a bonus :)

A QUICK, wet, and windy Edgewater walk with Gramma!

Anna had a sleepover at Gramma's tonight. So fun for Anna! But Carla was truly lost without her big sister! It was really surprising and sweet.

Artistic Anna

Anna's drawing is really coming along! So exciting! Here she drew a lovely portrait of yours truly (Colleen) on Carla's Glow-Doodle (awesome toy!), but unfortunately it doesn't come out in photos.

Who knows?

Just playing around :)

Our sweet baby monkey requested "time out" and we couldn't resist letting her sit side by side with Anna for Anna's time out. It's so cute how Carla stands and sits exactly right beside Anna all the time to do exactly what Anna is doing, I guess this even goes for time outs :)

Indoor and Outdoor Fun!

Thank you Pilumeli's for the soccer goal (and soccer cleats!)! Thank you Gramma M for the finger paints!

Happy to head home!

We had a great visit to Chicago (the swimming was a great highlight!) and miraculously the girls slept well in the hotel, but it's always nice to go home, and just in time to miss some forecasted snow in Chicago!

Here are some favorites:



We took a quick swim before we left, and took a video of Carla jumping in!

Chicago Children's Museum and Rainforest Cafe

Fun times at the museum (it's HUGE!) and at dinner (very cool place!)! But the night ended early with Anna falling asleep at the table! And then Carla getting horrified by a kind frog character visiting the table!

Lincoln Park Zoo

We walked the whole way back to the hotel -- 2 miles -- it took us 3 HOURS! We were going at a leisurely pace to say the least! The horse carriage was a fun surprise to see on our walk back!

Chicago-bound!

Anna unpacked the whole suitcase - what a helper!

Carla dancing!

Happy Easter!

Morning fun with Easter Bunny deliveries :)



And food festivities and an egg hunt in the afternoon at Zia's!

Anna's 4th Birthday Party!

Thank you everyone for celebrating and sharing your gifts (especially the beautiful handmade gifts from the Pilumeli cousins!!) and yummy food! It was a lovely day :)

Birthday visit to the Zoo!

I think everyone in Cleveland came to celebrate Anna's birthday at the zoo! No really, it was a summer-like beautiful day, a Friday, Good Friday, and I think it was the busiest day EVER at the zoo! It took like an hour to drive in (going 0-5 mph once off the exit) and then it was create your-own-parking-space all the way back in the excess parking! Once everyone made it in, it was a great zoo visit, and great birthday for Anna! Happy birthday to the happy 4-yr-old! We love you Anna!

April Fools!

Today we went to lunch at Rocky River Brewery and Anna got a birthday treat and was confused when everyone was singing to her because "It's not my birthday!" We also had some playground fun and then went back to Grandma and Pas' for an Easter egg hunt with Joey and Tyler (happened too fast to take pictures!), and the girls were enjoying Joey's rocket toy as much as they were enjoying the flowers and eggs!

Enjoying outdoors!

Anna took the first photo on the left of Carla :) and another 30 or so of our yard, and my belly! Thanks Mom for the birthday package :) We took a video today of Carla singing "Head, shoulders, knees, and toes", maybe someday it will be on here! Also stay tuned for Carla presenting "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" -- that was at Jenny's house. Very cute.

Sweet smilie

Fiscus Family Visit

We all (though missing Daddy) had a ball visiting the Fiscus gang in Cook Forest! Thank you for such a nice visit :) Sorry boys for your cute faces mostly missing from the photos! I think there is one of "Baby Ty" as our Anna calls sweetie-pie Luke :)

SUPERSTAR!!!

Today the girls and I braved a trip on our own to Cooks Forrest to see Jenny's big race (Mike was off to Texas). I knew she was going to do awesome - but she surpassed any amazing goals I would have even thought possible! She finished in 1:30!!! A-MAZ-ING! You rule Jenny! Very inspiring!



A fun surprise was seeing "Coaches" Kathy and Mike -- they originally brought Jenny and I together many years ago at Mercyhurst, and they are EXACTLY the same as back then! Thanks for sharing your team cabin Coaches! Anna had fun despite the look on her face in this photo...

Another beautiful day in nature

We decided a nice family hike was in order, so off we went to Squire's Castle at North Chagrin Reservation! The great outdoors -- such a blessing! Anna was "using all my energy getting up the steep hills" and Carla loved seeing the doggy and pretty horses, though when Caesar (the dog) actually got close she freaked out, Mommy-style. Afterward we replenished at a Chinese buffet! Ah hot and sour soup and coffee ice cream -- mouth watering hits for the pregnant mommy! Anna's favorites were the cantaloupe, ...and the mac and cheese! Carla nibbled everything down like it was her job -- funny that she is our "little" one (in terms of growth charts)! Daddy enjoyed his meal too :)

Spring, ah spring!!!

Today, Anna had a napkin on her lap, and I asked her why it was down there, and she said "Because that's the way adults do it, and I'm almost four :)". Also, yesterday, when she was in the sand and I was taking pics, she said "Are you going to keep doing that until I stop doing cute things?", and then proceeded to make some serious faces. I finally had to tell her that I was going to stop taking pics even though she was still being cute.

Beach bum!

can you believe it's March?! Wow, what a great day! This after Anna proceeded to take off all but her panties out on the deck while I was sitting there on the phone saying not to. Don't worry, she was punished, and then I had the swimsuit idea...I just couldn't let the beautiful day go to waste! Carla had fun out there too when she woke up, though I had her in winter boots! Funny site! ...they were really just protective from acorns and still around from winter, hopefully needlessly!

Happy St Patrick's Day!

We went for lunch at a nice Irish pub and then watched the parade! Anna loved the doggies and horses, fire trucks and clowns, and music, AND Aunt Maribeth's cast (it was decorated with lots of festive stickers)! Thank you for the darling outfits Aunt Terese!

Playground days here we come!

Exciting how kids grow leaps and bounds as the seasons pass - in size and in every other way! Check out that huge slide that Anna went down -- I think she shocked not only me, but also herself! She was really sort of scared after the fact; she's my cautious one. On the other hand, I was holding my breath for Carla's safety most of the afternoon! They sure are all different -- who knows what the little guy inside me will be like?! It was a fun surprise to have Evan and Eric (the neighbor boys down who live down the street) join us for the fun! Don't Anna and Carla look alike with there attentive look in the last photo?

Saint Patrick's Day Celebration!

Too many plans today! I enjoyed Angie's baby shower while Mike went to meet the girls and the rest of the Geneva gang for a St Patty's celebration!

Cool Irish blessing we received this year: May each new day be the best day!...or something close to that :) To anybody who reads this: May each new day be YOUR best day!

Sleepover at Grandma J's!

Mike and I volunteered for Soup for the Soul tonight, so Jackie took both girls -- Carla's first sleepover at Grandma J's! They had a ball playing with grandma and cousins! Thank you Jackie and Tanya for looking after our ladies!

No School for Cousins = Fun Cousin Time

Giuseppe and Carla were so cute together; he took really good care of her and really kept a close eye on her. Violetta, Dionisio, and Anna especially had fun playing together. It was also very fun seeing ALL five of them marching all around as a gang studying and exploring everything! We all waited in the earthquake simulator -- for a long time, and it was pretty cool, but better yet, we got a pic of all of them together! We love you Pilumeli's!!!

Welcome Home Daddy!

Today was another nice day, swimming indoors in the morning, and then spending time outdoors in the afternoon. Then Daddy came home before the girls were in bed -- exciting! So nice to all be together again :) We love you Daddy!

Oh, check out Mike's Dr Seuss hat! We made them after he left for Cincinatti on Sunday after we all went to see Seussical The Musical Sunday afternoon.



Carla is CRAZY!!! Do you see her up on TOP of that Little Tikes car! I was telling her to stop and was mostly right behind her, but I couldn't resist letting her get up there - no help - for a pic :) Oh yeah, and see, she was even riding her tricycle backwards! We're in trouble with this one!

What a Day!

Well, I forgot the camera today, but I decided to share our fun day anyway because it was a great one! First we went to Tot Aerobics at the Y (on time!), then we went to play time at the library (and the girls were good about cleaning up and leaving), then Carla napped and Anna ate her lunch nicely (sometimes getting her to eat a meal is...something), then we went to the Nature Center and saw lots of animals (and my favorite part was watching the girls talk and talk to each of the bunnies), then it was off to my mom's where we got to experience Anna's dream come true! We got to play in the snow AND play on the playground at the same time! She's been sad about our snowgirl melting and happy about playground time beginning, and wishing that she could do both, which Mike and I have been explaining is quite impossible...never say never! We had a very fun, snowy, muddy walk through the woods, then did some snow building and snow ball throwing (Anna would kindly warn me to close my coat so she could throw one at me!), and then the play ground was open! (Grandma and I were pretty sure the gates would be closed...good thing we checked!) I have never seen Anna have so much fun on a swing, and dear old, daring Carla, had a ball FLYING down the tall slide over and over! Then we had a nice dinner (Anna again ate pretty easily...guess it was all her physical exertion!), and the girls helped Gramma make "patrick" (as Anna says for "shamrocks") and spring/Easter cookies! Also, we had a tea party, and did a shamrock craft! They again cleaned up the toys and left nicely (yeah!) and were both asleep in minutes in the car (right after Anna said "I'mmmmmmm sleepy.") Now for some late (and abbreviated) exercises and bed! I just couldn't resist another "real time" blog post! I remembered (actually NON-technical gramma thought of) taking a picture with my phone when we were at the park, so I took some, but ... I think I am going to have to send them to Mike's phone and then he is going to have to email them to me, and well, that was too much for one night! Good night! Enjoy another SPRING day!

Our Dark-Eyed Visitor :)

"Coon, coon, coon, touch, touch, touch!" squealed Carla! What a funny surprise! I think this guy knew that we were having a rough afternoon and wanted to cheer us up, especially since Papa is coming home later than expected! Poor Mike is driving from Detroit now, after being stuck there all day thinking he would be flying out soon! At least he can sleep in his (our) own bed tonight!


PS- right after I posted this originally, we saw our friend again. This time he was up against our family room window!!! Yeah, he was crawling around between our window and a three foot mound of snow! Wild! Before the girls had been saying they wanted to touch it, and then Anna had her hands right against the window where the raccoon was! Here is a blurry photo hardly worth posting, but yikes!:

Good night! Girls are asleep and Hubby should be home momentarily!

Drum roll....

Happy March!!! I never thought the day would come, but I didn't have to change the date on this post! Praise the Lord! Let's see if I actually keep up! I am challenging myself to do so!



By the way, Carla is talking a lot these days! So exciting! She says: Mom, Mama, Mommy, Daddy, Papa, Anna, baby, water, more, eat, poop, potty, pretty, tee (tea, tree), nut, cheese, mana (banana), juice, meats (Miniwheats), ant (oink), mo (milk), bool (stool), boots, boos (shoes), up (cup, up), ope (open, oops - Mommy version of oops often, which I only just realized I say - ope!), teat (treat), andy (candy), Amen, Jesus (often very loudly in Mass!), burr (bear, cold), bapes (grapes), budget (vitamin??), doctor (flower, doctor), daughter (for who knows what??), Ama (grandma), peeeez (please, THIS is adorable, because it only usually comes after being told "no", or "all gone"), ...well that was fun ...first time I am thinking of this list by the way. And she is constantly repeating words she hears now, sometimes really well, other times, not so much. I think I hear her waking from her nap! Have a great day!!!

Jumping and Building!

This sure is the biggest snowman we ever made! What a lovely day! Poor Carla slept through it all, and then some. We were long done with hot cocoa before she even thought about waking up! Now she is always looking out the window, saying "man, man!" even though Anna says that snow friend is a girl!

Wow! Anna was so brave pumping up so high! I know Carla would have loved it, but I was surprised to see the constant grin on Anna's face the ENTIRE time! The rest of the day she was saying that she wished she was still bouncing.

Pistachio's Ultrasound!

Here He (or She) is! So fun to watch her wiggle around and rub her eyes :) We can't wait to meet you in person this summer, little one! Anna and Carla also really enjoyed watching the screen on this snowy, snowy morning.



Happy, happy birthday Aunt Jenny!

Snowed in (sort of :)

Anna and Carla decided to set up shop right here by the front door. All the bedroom toys (baby bed, high chair, etc) came down, mostly by Anna, to make a "baby house". Carla was mostly playing "baby" and Anna was caring for her, getting her milk, reading her stories, etc, all while she was tucked in to the doll bed! It was very cute. Carla is quite obedient to Anna, and Anna (when playing Mommy) is surprisingly calm with Carla. Anna's new line to Mommy is "Just relax Mom, be calm, ok???? and then I'll do what you say." What?! It's very entertaining really, and actually does, believe it or not, calm me down!

More playing when Papa came home. The girls like to bring lots of toys into the kitchen to play...often Anna says because there is no room in the play room (on account of messiness)! On the bright side, Anna has really been good at cleaning her toys lately, very exciting for Mommy!

Goofy girls and funny faces

Playing with Aunt Genni

Snow Angel

Gramma M and Carla had LOTS of fun in the snow during her stay in Westlake! Now it's hard to get her from the car to the garage -- she always wants to get out into that pretty white stuff!

Anna had fun inside building castles with Gramma when we came to pick up Carla. The way Carla's face lit up with a huge grin when she saw her big sister was priceless! So special that they have each other :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mike planned a lovely weekend and romantic evening to celebrate! Thank you grandmas for taking the girls (Anna with Grandma J and Carla with Grandma M and Pas)!!! We went for a romantic dinner at the Akron Women's City Club and then across the snowy parking lot to the Coach House Theatre for a great show, A Witness for the Prosecution. There was cookies and champagne at intermission, about five exciting surprising twists in the last 90 seconds of the play, and a rose for each lady at the end! We also did lots of very romantic cleaning and organizing over the weekend! Thanks again grandmas!

Lollipop Ladies