Bradlee's Video!

Reasons why I love being a mom! :)

Promised pictures, too!

Here are some pictures for y'all....sorry it's been so long...'tis the season! I should have some good stuff this week...being Christmas and all! :)


Emma and Aunt Sara!

Bradlee and Snookie, his great-grandmother!

Happy Turkey Day! (and a new hat!)

Emma putting the star on the tree

Emma in her "pil-i-grim" hat.

Police Mali Dot....the video :)

As promised....Merry Christmas! :)

I had to...

So I had to post this today...

Emma came home from school today and was singing/humming something. I didn't pay too much attention until we were eating dinner and she starting singing it again....I said, "Emma, what is that you're singing?" She sang:

"Police mali dot, Police mali dot, police mali dot...I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas, I wanna wish you a merry Christmas, I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas...with love from my heart!"

What a sweetie! :)

Busy Time of Year!

What a busy time of year it is!! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving....mostly, we were thankful for the fact that we were able to actually CELEBRATE this year! Karyn (my sister) isn't in the hospital like she was last year, and is feeling great! Paul (Emma's godfather) is not in the hospital and feeling better...and my grandparents were also able to make the drive up from Rochester Hills to join us for dinner, also! We had our Thanksgiving dinner at Tony's parents' house....all of us....that is, Tony's parents, Paul, my parents, Karyn and my grandparents! We had a wonderful time, and wonderful food!

On Saturday, Bradlee was able to experience his first trip to Frankenmuth (or, as Emma calls it, "Franklinmuth")! He was SO good, as was Emma! This is an annual trip with my family...we start at the Bavarian Inn for dinner, then go to Bronner's for our annual "Tacky Ornament" contest...I can't remember which ornament won this year, but I do believe Kathi's (my sister) boyfriend, Garrett, was the winner. Bradlee loved looking around at all the lights at Bronners! I carried him most of the way, while he chewed on my finger!

Yes, we do believe Bradlee is teething now...he's got a good stuffy nose and cough...of course! Tonight, he and I sat on the floor in the bathroom while the shower was running on HOT to get the "sauna treatment"...a.k.a. steam!! It worked SO well! He nursed really well after about 15 minutes in the bathroom and is still sleeping like, well, you know...a baby! :)

Emma's doing well, also...her and Beepee (Tony's dad) went out and built a snowman in the backyard on Monday...awesome, let me tell you! I have a picture, but haven't uploaded it yet, so I'll post it when I get to it....I promise!!

Bradlee had his 4 month appointment on Tuesday....13 pounds, 14 ounces and 24.25 inches long! What a big boy! Such a cutie, too...he was flirting big time with the nurses in the office! He got 4 shots and one immunization by mouth....Emma goes for her 4 year appointment this Tuesday and gets 4 shots, also! I'm taking Grandma (my mom) for reinforcement!!!

We're having Emma's birthday party this weekend...Circus theme! I'll be sure to post pictures! We were shopping at the party store (her and I) yesterday and she found this small bag of smiley face whistles and asked if we could get them. I told her that there are no whistles at the circus and she replied (are you ready for this?)...."Yes, mama...the ringmaster has a whistle!" How could I resist after that?! So, the kids at the party will have whistles...Lord help us! :) LOL

Hope you have a great weekend...my friend, Lauren, from CMU is visiting this weekend to go Christmas shopping...the only one I have to shop for is Tony!! I was really proud of myself this year...I did well! :) I promise to upload pictures soon!!!

Oh...Bradlee's also enjoying his rice cereal and Dr. Banerjee said he can start fruits and veggies now also! :)

Thank goodness for short weeks!!

I love the holidays...especially the short work weeks!

Nothing too much to report from this week...just getting ready for Thanksgiving and the start of the holiday season! Emma is loving the little snow we've gotten...as am I! I love living in Michigan...I love the fact that I can experience all four seasons (sometimes in one day!) and I do love the snow, also! Emma's already been asking to go out and make snow angels! I think she's going to be fun this winter to play outside.

Bradlee's doing really well. I can't believe he's 17 weeks old already, it's so crazy! We started him on cereal about 3 weeks ago and he's doing really well with it...sometimes we can't shovel it in fast enough! LOL HE's been sleeping through the night or about 3 weeks, also...AND......he's rolled over! He went from tummy to back about 2 weeks ago. The first time he did it, I thought it was a fluke, so I put him back on his tummy and told Emma and Tony to come watch. Not 5 seconds later, Bradlee straightened out his right arm, pushing himself over to his back! Emma was so excited for him and started clapping and cheering and Tony and I cheered, too! The look on Bradlee's face was priceless....it was like he was thinking, "Hot Damn! That's all I have to do to get some attention around here?!" LOL

Other than that, we're just hanging around, still doing swimming classes and gymnastics for Emma, wind ensemble rehearsal for me, and Tony's now helping out with the boys basketball team at school (Varsity). So, we're all pretty busy!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and calm Black Friday! LOL I will NOT be at Kohl's at 4am when they open, but I will be at work later on! :)

Oh....and congratulations to my friend, Monique.....she's a new mommy! And to our friends Nick and Robin...they will be mommy and daddy (again) on Wednesday!! It's a great time to be thankful for everything and everyone around us!

Sorry it's been so long!!

I do apologize to my avid readers that it's been so long since I've posted anything! I can't believe it's already mid-November...and it's supposed to snow tomorrow!!

My last blog was the day before election day. I took the day off, since Tony and the kids were also off, so the four of us headed to the polls to vote, expecting a long wait...to our (pleasant) surprise, our precinct had only 4-5 people in the line! We saw my dad in his line, which was out the building and around the corner...crazy! We went in, Bradlee sleeping and Emma with books in hand, got our ballots, and Tony and I had booths next to each other so Emma could sit inbetween and "read" while we voted. Now Tony's been pumping her for this day with "Who's going to be the next leader, Emma?" "Bwack Obama!"....But on our way to the polls, he was telling her that we can't talk about Barack while we're voting because some people might get mad at us and we could get into trouble...so I start filling out my ballot and I hear Emma wanting to be lifted up to see what Tony was doing. He lifted her up and she (loudly) whispered, "Daddy, did you vote for the new leader?" He said, "Yes I did, Sweetie." She replied, "Where is Bwack Obama's name?" LOL I giggled and the lady next to us giggled, too. Tony apologized to her and she just laughed and said it was no problem. How funny! :) Here's Bradlee's shirt for the day:

"I VOTE for a change...(my diaper's wet)!"

Nothing much else has been going on...Bradlee rolled over (front to back) on Thursday...he had the biggest grin on his face when he did, mostly because Emma, Tony and I were cheering him on! Emma's still taking swimming lessons and gymnastics classes, and started the swim classes in the pool by herself!

This afternoon, Lynne (my sister-in-law) and I took Emma and Bradlee to the Flint Institute of Music for their "Nutcracker Sneek Peek". They had dance rehearsals going on, activities for the kids, the Flint Youth Symphony rehearsing, and the big rocking chair from the ballet available to get pictures taken on! Emma and Bradlee both got their faces painted like mice (that's all they were doing) and both LOVED listening to the symphony rehearsing! Emma and I sat in the violin section and watched. She really liked seeing all the instruments she sees on Little Einstein's in real life and wanted to "try them out when all the big kids left"! LOL

Disney and Halloween

It's been a while, but a lot has been going on! The weekend before Halloween (the 24th-26th) was a really busy weekend...Friday the 24th was the opening of High School Musical 3 in the theaters, and being the Disney addicts we are, we promised to take Emma to see it! Well, my sister and sister-in-law came with us and we had a great time! Emma was SO good in the "fee-a-ter" and loved the movie!

On Saturday we went to Tony's parents' house for the UM-MSU game...we all know how that one ended! Of course, I had Emma trained to say "Go Green!" every time someone said, "Go Blue!"!!! Tony got to Bradlee first that morning, so as you can see, we had a divided household...

On Sunday, we took Bradlee to my parents' and Tony and I took Emma to the Palace (in Auburn Hills) to see "Disney Playhouse Live!" featuring Mickey's Clubhouse, Little Einsteins, My Friends Tigger and Pooh and Handy Manny. What a show! It was absolutely awesome...and that's just my opinion! Emma had an awesome time and participated with the people on stage and just had a good time. We were in the 10th row on the floor, so she could see really well. I cried when the Little Einsteins came out because it was just so cool to see Emma have such a great time with these characters she watches every Saturday morning (as well as during the week!)!!! I had gotten her some tatoos to wear, as well as an Einsteins t-shirt, so she was ready to go! Some of the best parts were the Mickey characters, who not only movedc their mouthes when they talked, but also blinked! Handy Manny's toolbox, which he carried out on stage, had MOVING TOOLS!! It's all BRILLIANT, I tell ya!!!! :) Emma's favorite part was Rocket in Little Einsteins...whenever someone asks her, "Emma, what did you go see at the Palace?" she responds with, "A BIG ROCKET THAT CAME ON THE STAGE!!!!!!" LOL When we were leaving, she said, "Mommy, I wish I were a Little Einstein, so I can ride on Rocket!" :)

Throughout the week, there were many photo-ops...including Emma showing off her "Fall 'vestes'" for the fall parade they had a school:

As well as Bradlee just being a happy baby!!!

And then it was Halloween....Emma was a witch and Bradlee was a peapod! :) We had a great time trick-or-treating and it was all because of the weather!!!

So, that's about all for the last 2 weeks...here's a carved pumpkin done by a lady that lives 2 houses down from my parent's house...don't forget to vote tomorrow!!!

Feeling Nostalgic...

So an okay "hump day" turned into a great Wednesday! Out of the blue, I got a phone call from two of my good friends!! Julie and I have been friends since Kindergarten...she's now a doctor...I mean, full-fledged, prescription-writing, crazy-on-call-hours, doctor. It's awesome. I tell her all the time how proud I am of her...I don't know that she really understands just how proud I really am of her! She gave me this picture in a frame for my birthday a few years ago...nice, 'eh? It's from our Kindergarten graduation in 1986. I'm sure you can tell that I'm the one on the left, she's on the right. We don't talk or see each other much, but when we do, it's like we've seen each other every day!! What a valuable friendship I have with her!! I love and miss her so much!






Then, not even a half-hour later, the phone rings again, and it's my friend and former roommate, Kate! I haven't talked to Kate in I don't know how long (in person, that is...we've emailed). We met at CMU and lived together for two years. This is the only picture of her I have that isn't in a box in the garage...sorry, Kate! LOL She moved to Chicago after graduating so I really don't see her much! She just had a baby at the end of September and her and the baby (Lauren) and her husband, Geoff, will be driving through Flint tomorrow and she thought to call me and see if we could somehow get together! I, unfortunately, have to work, but they are going to try to stop by my work so I can at least run out and see them!!! What a great surprise!!! I really miss talking to Kate and just basically hanging out...especially playing dominoes! :) I wish she lived closer than Chicago.






Two other friends I didn't hear from today (although I probably will after they read this!) are Lauren and Sara. Lauren and I met at CMU and lived together our final year there. She now lives in Canada with her husband, Scott. That's definitely long-distance!! We talk every once in a while and they stop by and visit when they're driving through (her family lives on the west side of Michigan, so it's usually around the holidays!)...and we've started a tradition where she comes over for a weekend and we go Christmas shopping together. For Christmas last year, her gift to us was to paint Emma's new "big girl room"...so one weekend in March, she came over and pulled wallpaper, sanded, patched, primed and painted Emma's bedroom. I miss her terribly, too!!!








Sara and I also met at CMU through a student group at the church, St. Mary's. We have a great relationship and she's Emma's godmother. She was going to become a Dominican Sister (and be "Aunt Sista Sara"!), and we completely supported her, but for reasons of her own, she decided it was not for her and is now happy as a clam schmoozing for a hospice organization in the Adrian area. :)


I miss these girls so much and I wish we all had more free time to spend together...in the mean time, I guess we'll just have to settle for emails and phone calls!!

PS - Monique...I'm saving baby clothes for you...and I'm praying you have a girl! :) LOL

What a Weekend!

Whew, what a weekend!


Friday was great...Lynne (Tony's sister) and I went and picked up Bradlee and Emma and went to the Holly homecoming parade. Emma loved the marching bands and the floats...the theme was "The Wonderful World of Disney", which is right up her alley! :) Bradlee was fussy right before the parade, then once it started, he fell asleep! :)

Then we went to the high school/football field and enjoyed homemade chicken tortilla soup in the parking lot and then went inside to the press box (it helps to know people!) to watch the game. Emma, again, LOVED the marching band and all the half-time activities. Bradlee was still sleeping! Our friends, Matt & Desiree, were also there with their two kids, and Dorian and Emma decided to replace Daddy/Uncle Tony on the microphone!! We left after half-time and came home and went to bed. Both kids slept great that night, as did I!!!

On Saturday, we had swimming class and then Lynne came over again and we went shopping, out to dinner, then came back home and made caramel apples! The are SO good! Emma had a great time "swishing" the apples in the caramel...and especially enjoyed eating them!

Sunday we went to the apple orchard. When I was little, my parents took us to this apple orchard (Porter's Orchard in Goodrich) and it was a little hole in the wall...now, it's huge and has hayrides, a playground area and petting zoo! Emma had a GREAT time playing on the slide...and Bradlee (you guessed it) was sleeping! LOL He really is awake sometimes!! We then went to the Flushing Park and I got some pretty good shots of Emma playing in the leaves. What a beautiful day it was!!! I think my camera needs a break this week! :) LOL

FRIDAY!!!

Well, we made it! Today's Friday and it's the final day of Spirit Week...there will be one more post with pictures from the parade and game tonight!!

FRIDAY for Tony and Bradlee was "Class Colors Day"...since neither Tony nor Bradlee have a "class color", they just wear anything Holly-related....so here you go!

FRIDAY for Emma was the long-awaited "Pajama Day"!! Let me tell you, Emma has been waiting for this day for about 3 weeks now!! Special thanks to Aunt Lolo for the jammies...I think she wore them for last year's pajama day, too!! She just loves 'em!!

Stay tuned for the final event pictures from this evening!!!

One day to go....

It's Thursday of Spirit Week...only one more day of this madness to go!!!

THURSDAY for Tony and Bradlee was "Disney Character Day". Tony wore his shirt we got at Disney last year and Bradlee wore a cute little onesie with "Lucky" from 101 Dalmatians on it...apparently the office staff at school dressed up as the cast from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs...the principal was Prince Charming! LOL :)

THURSDAY for Emma was "Wear Your Clothes Backwards Day". She had a riot putting on her clothes backwards this morning...and it was even more entertaining seeing the front of her pants, which were on her butt, dirty because she was playing on the slide! Then she had an eye appointment this afternoon and I'm sure they were wondering why this kid had all her clothes on backwards! LOL

See you for the last dress-up day tomorrow!!!

Wednesday is Hump Day....

...As evident by the faces in these pictures! :) This is why I don't have pictures taken of ME at 6:30 in the morning!!! LOL

WEDNESDAY for Tony and Bradlee was "Pajama Day"...in my opinion, it's the best theme day of the week and was always my favorite in high school...even though you wake up, take a shower and do your hair and make-up and then put on your "going out" pajamas...ah well...it was still fun!

WEDNESDAY for Emma was "Red, White and Blue Day". I made her shirt, which you can kind of see behind her sweatshirt...and she was excited to wear red socks, too! Ah, to be 3 again! :) I have a feeling she walked into school doing her "U-S-A!" cheer Tony taught her!! :)

Tuesday!

Day #2 of Spirit Week.....

TUESDAY for Tony and Bradlee was "Secret Agent Day"...I was humming the James Bond theme all day long! Special thanks to Tony's mom for finding Bradlee's outfit...complete with the baby sunglasses!!

TUESDAY for Emma was Hat Day...after trying on ALL of her hats, she finally settled on the Disney Princess one...it was also picture day, so she wasn't allowed to wear her hat until after she had her picture taken...I had to get one before she left this morning, though!!!

See you tomorrow!!