Christmas Update and Happy New Year!

While the snow was still falling, Pietro went out to take a few pictures at night.



These next few are from Christmas Eve. We decided to take advantage of the remaining snow and do a little path digging for Amedeo and the cats. The snow was so deep that the cats couldn't walk around and they were starting to go stir crazy in the house.


Violet appreciated the paths...she could finally walk around a small part of the yard.


We had a good time sledding down our hill. It is a good hill for toddlers...it doesn't go too fast and the walk up the hill isn't too long. Here are Poppy and Amedeo flying down the hill. A few times, we sent Amedeo down by himself...he seemed to like it.


Amedeo didn't care for walking up the hill, so we transported him...oh, the life!


One of the problems with having a fence at the bottom of the hill, is that you can smash into it face first. I wound up rolling off the inner tube to avoid that.


After mass, grandma decided to give Amedeo an early present....a suitcase!!! Now, he's all ready to head to Switzerland in the spring!


And, of course, the picture of all the loot on Christmas morning! It was great to have a white Christmas!


Amedeo playing with his cutting set...fruit and veggies that he can slice.


Pietro and Amedeo see the possibilites with these awesome wood blocks...thanks Uncle Morgan, Aunt Debbie and Finn! (This is one of Pietro's favorite presents. He often plays with them after Amedeo goes down for a nap so his structures don't get knocked down.)


Playdoh...

These are Automoblox...little cars that you can snap apart and together. Now we have little pieces all over the house!


Grandma and Grandpa went a little crazy and got Amedeo a firehouse/police station. He's having a good time playing "house"...feeding the firemen pizza and eggs (his two favorite things to cook.)

And, a picture of all of us on Christmas. Pietro got me a tripod...it comes in very handy!


I feel very thankful that we had a great 2009. I hope that 2010 is as much fun. I wish I had the discipline to make a handful of New Year's Resolutions, but I don't. I look forward to the New Year and New Decade!

Sledding

Pietro and I both love the snow, so we had to go out and see it Saturday night. Amedeo humored us and tried not to be cold.




Ok...so we stuck him in snow up to his hips and then giggled a bunch...I can see why he might not be super happy about this...



Snow, sand, sleep, bathtime....Amedeo goes NOWHERE without a truck or car.



Another form of child torture...sleigh rides!



We found a decent sledding hill. The hardest part is walking back up...



Ahhhhh...too bad the hill wasn't three times as long.



Amedeo did not want to sled...but he did giggle the whole way down. I'd call that a sucess.


Finally, enough snow for some good sledding. Too bad we're going to get rain to cancel it all out.

I think it snowed.

And, Mama, I need a bigger shovel...

Cookie Swapping

On Friday, I hosted a cookie swap party. Of course, this meant that I've been stuck in the house all weekend with the cookies and 21" of snow. Guess what I've been doing? And, I'd like to mention that we are, in fact, all out of cookies.

In attendance, we have Brooks and Emily (who looks awfully cute despite the fact that I've done NO photo editing. Go see her blog...they were discussing that stuff last week.)



Here are Jack and Amedeo playing nicely together. This picture is a sham. Jack and Amedeo have a tough time together right now since they both have the same feelings about cars and trains: "MINE!" No bloodshed...so it all worked out ok. Though, Amedeo woke up from his nap that day saying, "Friends....truck!!! Friends....caaaar!!!"


Melanie and Jillian being cozy!

Lindsey and Cady were the designated readers of the group.



And, lastly, the goldfish table....it was Amedo with a bunch of girls. Many goldfish were consumed.

We just hold on

Yesterday, we went out to play in the backyard with our Giant Dirty Snowball. We hold onto things for as long as we can around here. If it's still alive tomorrow, maybe we can put it in the freezer and save it for next August.

Catching up...

We had snow last Saturday, of course, for Pietro's birthday. Here's a snap of Amedeo in his snow pants. I love them! I got them just right for once. Usually, his clothing is either too big, really way too big or just small enough to be annoying. These fit! Hoooray!



Here are the Giant Pietro and his Offspring in their natural habitat. They prefer snow and cold weather. Anything that is dirty or grimy will do also.



Notice the Giant Pietro has no gloves. He insisted that his hands were warm. Silly creatures, these Giant Pietros.


Lindsey hosted a baby gathering...or toddler gathering...they're not babies anymore! Emily2 made some fabulous pumpkin muffins.



Mischief on the stairs with Jack and Amedeo. Is Amedeo going to give Jack a wedgie?


Amedeo and Jack having a little jam session.


My son, mooching off of Denise's muffin. Fortunately, Emily was there to keep him under control. I got pictures of all the mommies and babies, but none of the elusive Brooks. I'll do better next time!

Return from Missouri

We had a lovely trip to visit my brother and his family. It went by super fast...I wish we had more time to spend with them. I'm not going to bother with a day by day list of activities, there were too many to remember! Pietro did most of the picture taking. It was liberating to not take pictures, to not cook dinners, and to not worry about entertaining Amedeo all day. Finn is 9 months older than Amedeo. Finn taught our boy to scream. Lucky us.

Occasionally, we'd get a little exercise in our day. This is a little park that has caves and a natural bridge.


Finn enjoyed feeding Amedeo. No fingers were lost here.


We did lots of playground activities. Finn is a very active fellow. Very active. VERY VERY active. Consequently, his mommy and daddy get very very tired. I learned that they spend lots of running around time outside at many different times of day...early in the morning, after dark, right before bedtime. The picture below is from a gigantic playground that has many different levels of equipment. It's probably 4 times as big as the scrap tire playground.




Here are the three kids swinging.


And, Morgan, our chef for the week...not only does he draw excellent cars, but he cooks a fantastic turkey...and almost anything else. We ate like kings.



Here's a picture of Finn wearing his Halloween costume. It's awesome! Next year, I'm going to be a tractor too!