Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Our January Fun

It has been rather cold and snowy here for the last few weeks.  We've been trying to find lots of indoor activities to keep us occupied.  The library is sick of us I think!  We've tried out every indoor play place within a 20 mile radius, have crafted, sculpted, cooked and music classed our way through the icky days.  

In spite of the dreariness, the kids are great.  Will never ceases to amaze us with his "smarts", as we call them.  He just baffles us with his extensive memory, dredging up things we've long since forgotten! He is quite the little "teacher" for Ella. He loves to play games, Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, and Hungry Hungry Hippos are his favorites!  He NEVER stops talking or asking questions, and we're pretty sure that play-by-play announcer is his most suited career.  He certainly is getting a lot of practice... We're busily trying to determine the right preschool for him next year.  Just so hard to believe he'll be three this month.  

Ella is hilarious.  She is definitely our little book worm,  just devours books, and would sit and let you read to her until you've gone through every book in the house and then would probably exclaim "Again!".  She loves music classes, is quite the little singer, loves reciting nursery rhymes, and taking care of her babies.  Now that she's really talking in sentences, she and Will are quite the conversationalists.  I just love to disappear during the day and hear them chatting back and forth.  They have their spats, but they really are great buddies. 

The baby is doing well also.  We had our 20 week ultrasound last week and everything is right on track.  I can't believe we're more than halfway there already!  We decided not to find out if we're having a boy or a girl, so the big reveal won't be until June.  

In other news, we put our house on the market about 3 weeks ago.  It has been CRAZY trying to keep things cleaned up for showings (we've had 7, already, but no offers yet!).  We're not entirely sure where we're going if the house does sell, so that's probably a good thing.  We knock around the idea of building a house, but that often seems intimidating... 


Enough rambling!  Here are a few pictures!

Reading together in Ella's room.


After we'd made some homemade applesauce!  I'll spare you the pictures of both of them with their mouths wide open "showing" it to the camera.  I had to be very specific when I said, "Show me your applesauce IN the BOWL."


A trip to the Children's Museum. 
Ella and Nan driving the Smart Car.
 Will gassing it up.

 He was singing, "Buckle up for safety!"
Benjamin working in the workshop. 
 The kiddos, minus Benjamin's new little sister Abigail who was sleeping in the stroller!
 Flying the orange airplane, like Uncle Damon!  Although I've never seen an orange KC-135...
 Playing at the bubble table.
 Ella was really fascinated.
 Will in the wind tunnel. One of the major exhibits was all about air if you haven't figured that out yet :-)

Everyone's favorite, the water room! Will just loves putting his boat through the locks.  I found him explaining them to a girl (she was about 7 years old) how it works.  "You have to let it fill up from this side so that the waters is higher.  Then open this side and let you boat go through to the other side."  We've only done this one other time, probably at least 6 months ago and he remembered the mechanics of it.  Auntie Stef taught him all about it the first time we went! He'll also tell you all about how "the barges and tug boats go through the locks on the Ohio River right by our house heading to Pittsburgh or Ohio where they go to the Mississippi River, which goes through St. Louis where Anne and Tim and baby Andrew live" all in one breath.  He wants to know how everything works and what happens next. 
A little brother/sister splash time.  I think this was just before Ella dumped that entire bucket of water on her shoes... Luckily we've done this before and brought a change of clothes including dry shoes!

 Ella wanting to dump the BIG bucket... Look out below!
 Benjamin and Will playing together.
 Will and Ella splashing in the water fountains.  Will was drenched...
 Doing a little painting in the art room in their clean dry clothes!



Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Ella's first haircut!

The fact that Ella is unbearably adorable with her blue eyes and pretty curls is sometimes the only thing that saves her life... We debate daily weather she is a sweet kid with a cantankerous streak or if she is a cantankerous kid with a sweet streak. She has a serious temper, is extremely strong-willed, and always knows just what she wants and wants it NOW.   There are days when she'll spend 45 minutes rolling on the floor throwing a temper tantrum and then pop up, give me a hug and say "Ya you, Mommy" (love you, Mommy) in the next breath.  Who knows...

I have been very nervous to get her hair cut for fear that the curls would go away, which would make much more difficult for me to forgive her when she's "being a crabby pants" as Will says :-) She's had her bangs trimmed, but nothing more. Just before Christmas though, the wild-woman look was getting a bit out of control.  So off to Sherry we went for some layers in the back and on the sides.  Thankfully, the curls are still thriving and Ella lives another day...




Friday, January 7, 2011

Joy to the World...

Ok, I know, I'm running quite a bit behind, as usual. Here you go, the Christmas season highlight reel.  It was more wonderful than you could imagine! If we can all take with us through the New Year even one ounce of the joy the kids experienced this Christmas season, it will be a wonderful year indeed. 

Decorating our beautiful tree... 


The kids then came up with this game where they sat on the bin that stores the decorations for the tree and tipped it over until they fell on the floor.  It was hilarious. 



 Last year's ornaments. How they've changed...

 
Making Santa's house and toyshop out of gingerbread.  Ella LICKED every single piece of candy she used to decorate.
 
Showing off their stockings!
We hosted a small Christmas Eve at our house with my parents and grandmas.  Joe cooked an AMAZING beef tenderloin.  Will and Ella exchanged gifts (courtesy of a hilarious trip to Toys R Us with Nan and Pap. Pap wheeling Ella off in one direction to get a gift for Will, and Nan scooting Will away to purchase for Ella.  The ride home was a fiasco of Will trying to get in the trunk to see what Ella got him!!).  It was always a tradition that Damon and I would exchange gifts on Christmas Eve, to hold us over in gift getting and giving until Christmas morning!  It was fun to continue the tradition.

Will opening his trick motorcycle from Ella. 
 Ella opening her shopping cart from Will.
Post-exchange hugs.
Ella wearing her new hat and carrying her purse from Nan.  Pap cracking up...
Will's turn.
Putting some cookies (made by the kids!) and carrots on the plate for Santa and his reindeer.  They ate them all, and even left a thank you note!!
A little The Night Before Christmas before bedtime in their new Christmas PJ's.  Also a family tradition from the Antonetti household!
 
The big morning!!  Will has been telling everyone with ears, including 3 Santas, that he wanted a train table like his friend Liam's for Christmas (and a robot and xylophone). When we visited the Kelly's in South Bend, Liam had an awesome train table that Will fell in love with.  He was super excited when there was one just like it in the living room Christmas morning.  
Ella opening her new dollhouse from Santa.  She loves to put the baby on the potty and announce, "Baby pooping again!"




The mess...
Ella ready for Mass!

After Mass and naps on Christmas, we headed to my parents to celebrate with my brother and Amy and grandmas.  Round 2 of Christmas cheer!

Playing some Whack-a-Mole.  Games were definitely a big hit with both kids this year. 
Their super fun, and super noisy Dance Star Mickey from Nan and Pap.  They just LOVE this thing and are seriously hilarious dancing with him. A video is definitely in order... I'll get on that :-)
Will was certainly as excited to give gifts this year as he was to get them.  It was super sweet. 
The week after Christmas, we were off to CT to visit the Guarino's.  Christmas Round 3! Other than the stomach flu that we all came down with and shared with the family, sorry!, it was a great trip!

More PRESENTS.  Our living room, by the way, looks like Toys R Us threw up all over it...
 Ella feeding her Baby Stella in the new highchair from MumMum and PopPop.

 Will playing a little Hungry, Hungry Hippos.  Another new favorite!
 Hiding in the snow fort!



 Will and Uncle Fred snow battling...