Snow Day!!!

Greyson has been enjoying the little snowstorm that we received ALL day yesterday. Wow, what an interesting Saturday it was. We were lefted with about 9 inches of snow and lost power for seven hours last night. Thank goodness for a gas fireplace! We stayed busy by having a "picnic" dinner on the family room floor, playing chutes & ladders, and hide-and-go-seek in the dark with flashlights! Yes, it was an interesting Saturday indeed! :)

What's that Luciana?

oh, you're bored being stuck inside and watching the boys play air hockey?

you want to bundle-up and play in the snow too?

no problem.....

she looked five times her size in that snowsuit! ha!

next year the real fun will begin when all four of us can have a snow day together!

Top 2 Tuesday

Taylor from Jimmy Choos & Baby Too is starting a top 2 tuesday topic, and today's topic is our two favorite recipes. OMGoodness! This has been really hard for me to narrow it down to just two! I've decided to pick my favorite pampered chef recipe and one of my favorite cheesecake recipes. If you try either, enjoy you won't be disappointed!

Lemon Herb Chicken Ring
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
2 cups chopped chicken
1 lemon
3 Tbsp. chopped parsley
2 garlic cloves
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup mayo
1 Tbsp. italian seasoning
1/2 cup grated parm cheese
2 pkgs. pillsbury crescent rolls (8oz each)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix chicken, pepper & parsley, set aside. Zest lemon and add 1 tsp. to the chicken mixture. Stir in pressed garlic, mozz. cheese, parm cheese, mayo and seasoning. Unroll crescent dough, separate triangles. Arrange triangles into a circle points toward the outside of a large round baking stone. Spoon mixture onto dough. Bring dough up and over filling tuck under center of ring (your filling won't be completely covered). Sprinkle with about 2 Tbsp. of parm cheese. Bake 28-30 minutes or until nice and golden brown.

Oreo Cheesecake
4 oz. pkg. oreo cookies
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 eggs
2 8 oz. pkgs. cream cheese
16 oz. sour cream
1 Tbsp. vanilla

Finely crush half the oreos, coarsely chop your other half. Mix the finely crushed cookies with the melted butter and press firmly into a 9 inch spring form pan, set aside. Beat cream cheese and sugar. Blend in eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Fold in the coarsely chopped cookies. Spread mixture carefully over your crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until set. Let cool one hour, refrigerate for three hours before serving.

If anyone wants to take part in this too, don't forget to leave me a comment and let me know so i can add some more yummy recipes!

being sick... stinks!

sitting here in her bumbo seat, luciana may not look as if she has been battling a little virus or getting over pink eye... but she has. And somehow has managed to remain pretty happy thru it all. we love her sweet little spirit.

here she is before bed this weekend

oops!

getting a little better at "sitting up" everyday. we call this the tripoli tripod

seems she would rather chew the tags....

Here are a few of greyson from the same age:

perfecting the tripoli tripod too

my babies have the bluest eyes! those definitely came from daddy (and grandma). :)

seems like only yesterday he was laying there on the changing table looking back with that sweet face.

Officially FIVE!!

How can it possibly be that our little man has turned five years old? Sunday was a much anticipated and looonnnngg awaited birthday! Greyson was beyond excited to finally turn five. He definitely thinks the magic number holds its own powers. uh-oh! :)
I have plenty of great pictures to share from his bowling birthday party, but for now just wanted to share a quick one of our family. Greyson sporting his very own number five birthday shirt. While Luciana matched her BIG brother in an a-line dress finished with a huge bowling pin. She of course was much more interested in the yummy ribbons. Maybe cake next year baby girl.....

she sure is greyson

but, mommy she's "squirmy"!
she sure is buddy! :)

snow playdate

we woke to about 3 inches of snow this morning! everything was covered in a soft fluffy snow, it was so beautiful! this was luciana's second snowfall, her first she wasn't feeling well so we didn't get to take her picture. today was picture make-up day. ha!

luciana's little friend sophia and her mama alison came over to join in the fun too!

the girl's little noses were starting to turn pink with all the WIND!

first snowballs!! maybe next year they'll be ready for a friendly snowball fight. ha!

time to come inside and warm up!

fifi- thanks for coming over today to play! love, lulu

one for daddy

seems somebody missed seeing an updated post of a certain little munchkin & cupcake yesterday....

we love and miss you daddy!! Hurry home! XOXO Greyson & Lulu

Happy Monday!

Here is our little fishy happy as can be and growing out of this bath support. I took this picture a little before bed tonight. She is five months old today, and speaking of growing.....

look how much she has changed from this photo taken at 8 days old. (sniff sniff)

Can I just tell you how excited Greyson was to go back to preschool today? Because it was the first day back since Christmas break? Nope.

Here's a hint.....

See that lunch box? Little dude was excited beyond words that he got to "eat lunch with all my friends". In other words he is an all day preschooler now!! I definitely wasn't ready for him to stay all day in the very beginning of the year. If he went all day everyday, I still wouldn't be ready. But he only attends three days, which leaves two full days for just us! That mama can handle.

When I picked him up, I asked him what his favorite part of his big day was? He answered "taking a rest".

come again?

Yes, that's right! He said a REST!! I can't get him to take a rest here if I promised him candy! :)

All righty then.

On a much more serious note, do you Mommy's out there have one of these infant seats (or know a friend that does)? It's called the Cradle in Comfort Bouncer, a Boppy product (made by KidsII).

If you do, please pass along this frightening story that happened a few days ago to Luciana.

She is very active these days and loves to stand or press upward when her feet touch almost anything. See that center piece on the bottom of the infant seat? She apparently kept pushing her feet on that part, while somehow her chin/neck became stuck on that canopy part. Stuck as in, she couldn't move. The picture above is the only one that I have with her in the seat, it was taken a few months ago when she wasn't as long. She isn't too big/long for the seat, at her 4 month appointment (last month) she was 12 lbs. 3 oz. and is in the 50% for height. I really don't know exactly how it happened, all that matters is that she is safe, and will never use the seat again. The Boppy company was completely wonderful, are sending out a recall AND they are sending us a free "around we go activity station" (that will be available for sale later this month).

We were thankful they were so responsive, excited to get a new toy, but the fact that she could have been terribly hurt (or worse) is better than any plastic toy.

Thank-you for reading and please pass along the dangers of this infant seat. Without the canopy, and of course with a baby strapped in I'm sure the seat would be safe. We just couldn't take the chance.

baby it's cold outside!

twenty-six degrees tonight to be exact! but this sweet picture of jim reading a bedtime story to both kids (llama llama red pajama) tonight warms me to the core. hope everyone had a great weekend and stayed warm & cozy!

Christmas morning & resolutions

two of greyson's favorite gifts were his imaginext bat cave and his cowboy boots! the boots were a combination from toy story and wanting to be just like his buddy parker.

he wears them everywhere and with everything! :)

poor luciana has been battling her very first cold. she woke Christmas morning with a fever, somehow managed to open two gifts and spent the remainder of her day in my arms.

Sunday was her Christmas re-do!! She was feeling much better and back to her happy smiley self! She was also wearing her first little Christmas dress that I made! I decided to not go the traditional red/green this year.

Here's Nana (my mom) with her little helpers getting ready to open gifts.

Luciana with one of hers...

2009 was a very mixed year for our family. Losing Grover still hasn't really sunk in on most days. I wish I could say it has gotten easier but the truth is, we miss him just as much today as the night he left our side. The highlight of course came on August 4th as we welcomed the littlest member of our family into the world. Jim and I really needed her birth to focus on as we traveled almost eight long months searching for a job. Two weeks before Christmas the search ended. Jim was offered another position with United Airlines this time not as a pilot, but in management. The adjustment will be that he will be working in Chicago monday thru thursday every week. That's where my new year's resolution comes in....

I'm really going to try hard to take at least one picture everyday and post a little something, so Jim won't miss a single day. Even when he isn't here.

Day one: January 1st, our gingerbread house. Greyson is doing a great job holding up our poor little roof! :) apparently this isn't a project you are suppose to attempt 20 minutes before bedtime. Instead of assembling the house, and *waiting * for the icing to dry..... bedtime was calling so we decorated with as much candy and sprinkles as it could hold and hurried on to bed.

you can guess what was waiting the next morning, a mess! our roof looked as if a big snow storm had hit! oh well, memories were made! :)

Day two: January 2nd, Christmas toys!!!! Greyson gave Luciana this little laugh and learn piggie, which she loves! Although in this picture, she seems to be more interested in the bat helicopter!

Here she is on the tail end of four months. She has discovered her toes and doesn't ever let go!

Hungry Luciana?

Oh the sweetness, I can hardly stand it!

If you have time, leave me a comment and tell me your new year's resolution!