The Adventures of Lucy and the Birthday Girl

It's that time of year when we celebrate our most favorite daughter, Anna! (we can say that you know what I mean). She had 8 friends over for her 8th Birthday! We had a face painter come and surprise all the girls with spectacular "bling" infused face painting! They also took some time to make extra special head bands with homemade paper flowers on top!
Wegmans did the cake with some special props to make the cake shine! Anna and I collaborated on the idea for the cake! Love it! (What I really love is my daughter... so fun to see her grow up and have ideas about how she wants things to go.)

Here are some shots of Anna's friends anad their faces!

















Anna, age 8 Anna's friend




Anna getting her face painted.











It was quite a celebration... but the weekend had more to offer!

Since there was a National Holiday for Anna's birthday this year (President's Day) and all the family was off for the day we did a low frills surprise party for Anna. I had taken her to get her nails done while everyone piled on over to the house for a little celebration! The surprise was great and she enjoyed being with everyone. Time with the cousins and family is always a treat! Gramma and Opa, Aunt Shelley, Aunt Tina and Uncle Alan, the cousins, Uncle Greg and Christina and mommy, daddy and Aidan were in attendance! What a birthday weekend, huh?!




So, if that wasn't enough...
ENTER the family pet... Yes, we did! I know, can you believe it... we got a hamster. Her name is Lucy (I hope it's ok to name your pet after your great grandmother?) She is a long haired rodent (as I like to refer to her) . When we went to get her... the girl at PetSmart looked at us very seriously and asked "Have you ever had any rodents before?" to which Jon replied... "Well, we've had some we didn't want before!" She didn't think that was very funny! At this point, I am shaking... because I just agreed to the responsibility of having a rodent INSIDE my house. I willingly entered into a relationship with a rodent. Can you believe it? Anyhow... here is her story!

**technical difficulties... will try to finish this later!*




















Anna (can you tell she's excited) holding Lucy very carefully!

Daddy, Gramma (the true people to thank for this addition to our family), Anna and Aidan





Our newest family member... Lucy Bisset (aka, LuLu)

Ok, so we're proud!

Anna has been taking horseback riding lessons with her buddy Kessler since the fall. She loves it... you can see the joy on her face and hear it in her voice. She is gaining confidence each ride and Morgan Decker does a fabulous job encouraging her while pushing her to fine tune her skills. I think as each day with our kids comes and goes I learn more and more about who they are, what things excite them, how they react to difficult situations. These lessons have given me a glimpse into something that truly excites this 8 year old girl!
This is the latest video... ok, so we're very proud of her!

And not to be overshadowed... is AIDAN. He got to say the pledge at school today. Here is the practice round at home! Again, proud parents... truly!

Snow day... an unexpected surprise! Jan 26, 2010

Another snow day here in Baltimore! The kids are loving life... no school, lots of hot chocolate, and movies! We're in the process of building the biggest snow fort I've ever seen. Even the big kids in the 'hood helped! It was so fun.








Our friends Kess and Ellie brough the supplies
for the snowman! His name was Brayden!
So thankful for these days...

Snow Day! Jan 12, 2010

The view out our front door!
Jan 12, 2011
Beautiful snow... and just the right amount, too!

Anna, age ~8
Dressed for some fun in the snow!

Aidan, age 5 1/2
All set to play!
We set out on an adventure... first making snow angels in the common area!

Then we set out on a backyard hike to explore the winter wonderland in our own backyard!
So fun....

The kids each grabbed a stick and became the tour guides for our adventure. They were holding back vines for all the participants, making sure no one stepped off the trail, and always making sure to save the holly tree branches by shaking off the extra snow!

Loving this life!

It's not just a Santa hat...

Well, for us it's much more. These memories at Christmas time are so sweet, and often I don't think of them until now... it's 2 days before Christmas and as I walked downstairs and saw the tree... I went back in time to my childhood. My dad loved Christmas. He really loved anything fun! So, when it comes to Christmas he knew how to make everyone feel special. You see, the hat was the beginning of the fun. Once Dad put the hat on, then we knew it was time to open presents. He would chuckle with glee as he handed out all the presents; reading each name tag, and making jokes! We always threw the wrapping paper (sometimes at each other) after we were done opening our present. So, the hat has been passed down to my brother. And maybe for him, he wears it more proudly than some would... after all- it's not just any Santa hat!
Love you, Dad! You'll always be a special part of our Christmas!

Santa-- did you know?

Anna's Christmas list
how it went down:
Jon- "Anna, wow, those are 2 big ticket items on your list. Could you pick 1 that you want to ask for?
Anna- "Well, it's free when it comes from Santa. Didn't you know that!"
Jon- "......oh, right!....."

Aidan's list (handwritten with some help from Anna)
Mom- "Aidan, what is the 1 thing you really, really want to get on Christmas?"
Aidan- "2 monster trucks. The little ones, Mom. Just 2, that's all!"
Mom- "Ok, are you sure?"
Aidan- "yup!"

Christmas Time at the house!

Winter picture by Aidan. He is 5 now and loving kindergarten. He has many creations... there are so many that I can't keep them all! He loves to draw, doodle, and color.