Mid December

Jim hung Christmas lights on the house this year- I think they look great.

Jim received a promotion earlier this year- which means he was invited to the Request Foods Christmas party.  Here we are all dressed up ready to head out.  What a great work party it was- good food, good drinks, and great gifts!

We had a Christmas party at my brother's house the weekend before Christmas.  Ethan had been sick the day before and was still a little under the weather during the party.  The sickness that he had eventually spread to me, Jim, Francesca, Jarrod, and my dad.  Lucia somehow managed to stay healthy.  

Ethan received a new sled from Oma and Grandpa- now all we need is a little snow!

I came into the kitchen a few weeks ago to find Lucia stuffing herself into her father's lunch cooler!  It was pretty cute!

Carol Johnson

Francesca and I took the kids to see Carol Johnson preform a few weeks ago.  For those of you who don't know, Carol Johnson is a local singer/songwriter in Grand Rapids- mostly of children's music.  She has been around a long time- I grew up listening to her!  It was great watching her preform- I think Francesca and I got more out of it than Ethan and Lucia!  When she started singing some of her songs I started to get a little emotional thinking about how I listened to her with my parents and now I have kids of my own.  It was a lovely morning!

Thanksgiving- a little late

We had a huge family get together this year for Thanksgiving.  Close to 70 people came!  Here's a family shot- it was the best one, even though we are all not looking at the camera!

Ethan was not too thrilled with his Thanksgiving plate- he managed to force a few bites down.  When did I get such a picky eater?

My handsome brothers. 

Kerri brought a caramel apple bar- it was great- Ethan had so much fun stealing the candy from the bowls. 

The feast is ready!

Ethan after enjoying his caramel apple the next day- he worked on that thing for a good 30 minutes!  

The Santa Claus Parade

Jim and I took the kids to the Santa parade in downtown GR a few weeks ago.  It was actually a pretty good parade- there were even balloon floats!

Ethan thought the sirens were pretty loud on that fire truck. 

Nicholas, Sunny, and Ivana were there too- Nick and Ethan enjoying some hot chocolate and the parade. 

Lucia and Grandma Sue- Lucia did pretty good too- she loved the big balloons when they went by her!

Like this elephant- the people holding the strings had to pull it down so it could squeeze under the stop lights. 

Lucia and daddy enjoying the parade. 

The floats were pretty good this year- I thought this one was pretty cute. 

I thought this one was pretty funny!

This one was a little creepy- something about it's face . . . 

The Grinch was there too!  I did not get a good picture of Santa- but he was there too- along with some reindeer!
Ethan had a great time collecting the candy- though you could tell it was one of his first parades because the other kids around him were much quicker at picking it off the street- there's always next year!

Halloween

Here's Ethan and Lucia with Oma and Grandpa.  Ethan could hardly see with his mask on, we ended up taking it off while he was trick-or-treating.  

We went to Grandma Sue and Grandpa Dave's house to trick-or-treat with Emily and Addy.  Ethan had fun going around with his cousins- he practically ran the entire time!  Lucia looked fat and cute in her little duck costume.  

Halloween Pumpkins!

Grandpa and Oma came over to help carve pumpkins today.  Grandpa did the one on the left, Alessia did the Spiderman symbol (Ethan is going as Spiderman), and Ethan and mamma did the one on the right.  I think they turned out pretty good!  

Lucia and Ethan examining the "pukins" as Lucia says.  

Chicago Visit

Ethan, Lucia and I went to Chicago last weekend to visit Chiara, James, Norah, and Luca.  Ethan and Lucia had a blast playing with their cousins!  This was Chiara's family room after about 10 minutes of play- Ethan loved playing with all of Norah's toys!

We had this for dinner one night- it was delicious!  A pizza with a roasted garlic "sauce" topped with roasted butternut squash, roasted mushrooms, bacon, fontina cheese, and topped with arugula- it was great!

We went to the Brookfield Zoo while we were in Chicago.  We took in the dolphin show and sat in the "splash zone" during the show.  Chiara and I were not too thrilled about the seats- but when Ethan was asked what his favorite part of the show was- he said watching the dolphin jump in the air and splash us- so I guess it was worth it. 

Ethan and Norah fight over one of those cut out picture things. 

Uncle James gives Ethan a better view of the Giraffes. 

I think they were my favorite at the zoo- Giraffes are so cool!

Chiara and I took Ethan and Norah to this indoor play yard called the "Tree House."  Basically it was a giant jungle gym for toddler-8 year-olds with slides, monkey bars, steps, tunnels, bridges, etc.  Ethan and Norah spent a good hour running their butts off!  This it Ethan during a break- I love how red his face is!

Ethan had so much fun in Chicago playing with Norah!  He did not want to go home- so he went back down to Chicago this past weekend with Nonna (who was going to babysit).  Jim and I sure did miss Ethan when he was gone- but I'm glad he got to spend more time with his cousins! 

Fall Fun

This was a few weeks ago at Blandford . . . it's much colder now!  Lucia enjoying the fall leaves. 

Ethan, Lucia, Grandma Sue and I went to a local pumpkin farm/country store a few weeks ago to pick out some pumpkins.  There were some fun activities for the kids- like this slide out of one of the barns.  They also had some goats and bunnies the kids could pet.  The petting area made me nervous because there were a ton of kids all grabbing at the animals and nobody there to regulate!  Goats were trying to escape!

Grandma and Lucia found a nice pumpkin.  Lucia is turning into quite the litter talker- Grandma Sue was telling Lucy that they had to push the cart, and Lucia kept repeating "push . . . push."  Lucia can also say "pumpkin"- it's pretty cute!

Ethan dropping rotten pumpkin parts into another pumpkin- it was kind of disturbing! 

Family Photo Session

Last weekend we had a photo sessions with Heather Abram of Heather Abram Photography (she is on facebook!).  Heather suggested this old barn out in Allendale.  It was a lovely spot- and pretty popular given there were probably 7 other groups of people/photographers!  Here are a few of my favorites from the shoot- I had such a hard time choosing! 

Ethan being Ethan.  It took him a good 20 minutes to warm up- but Heather was able to get him to smile!

I love those blue eyes. 

I love this picture of Jim and I! 

Lucia and her mamma. 

He takes such nice photos when he cooperates! 

I love this family shot of us. 

Ethan and Lucia. 

I think this one is pretty great :-)

My baby girl! I can't believe how fast she is growing!

Another nice family shot. 

I love the serious stare Lucia is giving the camera!

Thank you again Heather- the pictures are lovely- I'm going to have a hard time choosing which ones to print!