"Home for the holidays......"

So for the first time in like... ever- we celebrated our Thanksgiving and Christmas together as a family at HOME.  As in OUR house.  :)  It ended up being a very special, memorable Thanksgiving and Christmas for us.  

Olivia getting busy making the muffins for our first " Muffin Feed"  Thanksgiving morning-

Tori and myself checking on the bird....

Thanksgiving dinner with Matt's parents and brother- 

To Make a Long Story Short...

Wow- uh really?! My goal was what, to blog like once a week?!  None the less- better now than never.  So with the last blog post being Victoria's first birthday - let me catch you up to speed.
Let's just hit the highlights for the last 3 months.

October- 2 kids under 3- the obvious:  HALLOWEEN

Miss Olivia was suppose to be Thumbelina- at least that was the costume we have had for A YEAR now- since I thought I was being "on top of things" and "thrifty" by purchasing the girls costumes last year after Halloween on clearance.  That'll teach me to try to be someone I am not.  ;)   After a day of the most obnoxious meltdowns by Olivia and myself... we finally came up with- a butterfly of some sort-

Miss Victoria was the most adorable little "Tink" ... so I guess I get a point for that one.

And I was some sort of green "dark" fairy- which pretty much portrayed the way I was feeling after a day of battling a 3 year old.  

All in all...it ended up being a fun time out and about scoring some not so much needed candy.  HaPpY hAlLoWeEn. 


Next Post: Thanksgiving... Watch for it Easter 2012

Victory with Victoria! Happiest First Birthday...

So, for anyone who knew me well- you knew I vowed to NEVER have any more kids after I had my first baby, my little spitfire, Olivia.  :)   Motherhood at first was BRUTAL for me- what I thought was going to be like a fun accessory, ended up being more like a total makeover!   So, I decided "NO MORE KIDS!" I was fully content with my precious little girl.   But then God decided otherwise when I became pregnant again.   This is why I know GOD KNOWS WHATS BEST!

Our sweet little Tori was brought into this world, September 11, 2010.  That was just the first thing in how Tori has changed my outlook on life.  Like many others, 9-11 was a hard day for me, as I was living in NYC at the time and just happened to be downtown that day and witnessed the horror that for ever will haunt so many.  Now it is a day that I remember how God can restore anything.

This year has been healing in so many ways.  I now know the joy that other mothers talked about with having a newborn.  I can actually say I enjoyed waking up in the middle of the night to nurse my baby. I soaked in and loved every minute I have had this first year of Tori's life.

God truly blessed us with an amazing baby.  She has the most amazing temperament of ANY baby I have met or will ever meet.  She never cried as an infant... ate like a champ... great sleeper... never had an ear infection...  always perfectly content.    Her temperament remains very much the same today.  She is very go with the flow- always happy- always smiling.

Happy Birthday my little Victoria Viola!

There were never such devoted sisters~

I remember how excited I was to find out I was having a girl when I first found out I was pregnant with Olivia.  When I got pregnant again- I remember praying for another girl. And sure enough God answered my prayers again with little Victoria!  My sister Beth and I are so close that we call each other "faux twins"-   I hope that Livi and Tori grow up to be just as close as my sweet sister and I.....   so far it is looking promising