Happy New Year!

We bid adieu (is that how you spell that?) to 2006 and we're ready to ring in 2007. Where does time go???

We took advantage of the mild weather and took a trip to the park today. Ruby was SO excited to run around and even take a dip in the stream. Jack was so interested in what Ruby was doing and he even found a few good sticks to throw to her. Addie just wanted to swing on the playground.

We stopped off at Starbucks for some caffeine so we can attempt to see the New Year at a party tonight. It was Addie and Jack's first cafe experience and they celebrated with a M&M cookie and an OJ!

Happy Birthday to Anna!!!!!! 17 years old today - oh, I remember the days well. What fun it must be to have a b-day on New Year's Eve.

So, Happy New Year to everyone.... I hope 2007 brings happiness, health and good cheer to all of our friends and family.

Have you made your resolution?

It was a very merry Christmas

Addie woke up around 6:15am on Christmas morning, but she totally forgot that it was Christmas day! She decided to get dressed and play in her room. After about 10 minutes she said, "oh, we should check on the cookies!" (that we left out for Santa). So we all went down stairs (Dada went first to turn on the tree lights) and as she was walking down the stairs she saw the presents Santa left under the tree! She exclaimed, "presents!!!" and was so excited! It was nice --- she didn't tear into them and she was very patient. Jack had NO interest in opening so Addie got double duty, which she loved. Jack was perfectly content just watching Addie and playing with a tractor that Santa brought him. Dada started a first, Christmas tunes were playing and it was a nice and relaxed morning.

Santa was very good to us again this year. Lots of toys and books for the kids (and some pretty cute clothes, too). Music was the theme for Kevin (iPod accessories, new Wave radio, etc) and I got my very own copy of Photoshop! Yippee!!! Now I need to learn it.

We are babysitting Ruby's friend CJ for a few days. The dogs are having fun, but can I tell you about the dog hair in my house! I have vaccummed several times and it's just not going away. Both dogs insist on sleeping in bed with us... and when I say insist I mean it. If one is not in bed he/she paces and whimpers until he/she is allowed up... it is so annoying. Once I found a comfortable spot I did not move last night!

Today was a day of getting back to "normal." Nanie and Poppy have gone back to NC, Christmas day has come and gone, Dada has gone back to work... and it's just me and the kids! Addie is off school this week, so we're trying to find fun things to do to fill the days. Dada surprised us and came home early from work so we could all go swimming! It was fun.

We'll see what else the week brings - more later!


Looking forward to seeing what 2007 has in store for us.

Twas the night before Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Nanie and Poppy are on their way back to NC - we had a nice visit with them. Hard to believe that the week is over. We will miss them and look forward to our next visit.

We have put out cookies, crackers and water for Santa (because he will "like water just as much as milk" according to Addie). I think he'll be here around midnight or so... we're all awaiting his arrival!

Hope everyone has a peaceful night! Merry Christmas.

Santa is coming soon!

Here are a couple of pictures from our party the other night. We continued the festivities with a cocktail hour at our neighbor's house tonight. Addie was so funny... we were served shrimp with toothpicks so Addie decided to toothpick the Goldfish that were out. Everyone thought that was quite lovely! Kevin and I have one more party this Friday, too. Addie's school celebration is tomorrow and so I've been busy making biscotti for her teachers. Poppy made it in to town a.ok last night and he has enjoyed playing with the kids today! If you ask Jack who is Poppy he says, "Nanna!" Don't know why he won't say Poppy (or something like it). Jack's other favorite saying is when you ask him where someone or something is he says, "right there" and points! So cute! More later, but I am leaving for my own party tonight --- the women's group at church that I belong to is having a little Christmas celebration.

Big update coming!

Whew! It is the holidays! So busy!

I am going to be uploading pictures soon, but in the past few days we've had Kevin's Dept's Holiday party, our Christmas party, and my work party.

I'll leave it at that and get back to you later!

Holiday Busy, Busy, Busy!

It's the holiday season for sure --- busy, busy, busy! We've gotten our tree (gorgeous - photos to come) and I've made 3 strands of fresh garland (my new favorite holiday chore). I've cleaned out my boxes of holiday decorations and still have extra stuff that I don't know if I'll ever use. I have hung wreaths and decorated the front door. It's been busy!

Addie's favorite Christmas carol is Jingle Bells and if you were in the grocery store yesterday afternoon when we were there you would have heard her singing it in her LOUDEST and I mean LOUDEST voice! Everyone seemed to enjoy the free concert and a couple of people made comments to me such as, "she's excited," and "I just love it!"

So much more to do today - a trip to the mall to buy a couple of presents for Dada and others. I have to plan the menu for our annual holiday party that we're throwing this weekend. More decorating needs to be done... and we have to get ready for Nanie's visit. Whew!

The BEST news of the day, though, is that Addie's 5am wake-up calls seem to have gone by the wayside... it is now 7:30am and she is STILL asleep!! AHHHHHH, BLISS!

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

It snowed today! Nothing significant, but enought to cover grassy surfaces, look really pretty falling from the sky and drive the salt trucks out of their garages! Addie was SO, SO, SO excited - all day long she wanted to go outside and play in the snow (I guess I need to buy new snow boots for her now - she wore her rain boots!). She promptly made a snow angel and then wanted to eat the snow. Thank goodness Ruby hadn't been outside yet - I need to teach her not to eat the "yellow snow!!!!" LOL.

All day long I knew something was amiss. The kids were crazy - we were on each other's nerves, etc. I said to a friend this afternoon, "it must be a full moon or something," and low and behold, it IS a full moon! Do I know my kids or what. Tomorrow is a new day!

A friend's birthday party

Oh what fun it is to go to a birthday party!
Addie and Jack got to see all their friends this afternoon- and play with a clown, have lollipops and eat cake! Whew!

sky

Thought this was an interesting picture of the evening sky. The kids and I went to the little local neighborhood park late afternoon the other day for them to play and for me to obsessively try to get a Christmas card picture of both of them together!!! Our gorgeous stretch of weather has come to a halt - whereas the past several days have been near 60 and sunny, today was about 40 and RAINY. Our back yard is a lake! Winter has arrived for the week, they say. 30s. Brrrrr. Snuggle...

I did a photo shoot with a friend who is pregnant - my first time trying to create a beautiful portrait of a pregnant belly. Ugh... I have so much to learn! Luckily my friends are very patient with me as I take picture after picture!

Not much on tap for the weekend. Kevin and I are treating ourselves to a nice night out with friends. Tomorrow, Addie has a friend's 3-year old birthday party. She is looking forward to that. She painted a picture the other day and I told her we could use it as wrapping paper for her friend's present (play-doh).

Have a good weekend.

The sun does shine!

Can't complain too much about the weather the past couple of days as we've had brilliant sunshine and mild temperatures! Yippee!!!

Nini and Papa left today to go back home. They spent Thanksgiving and the weekend with us, which was lots of fun for all. Addie especially had a good time with Papa and Jack and Nini had some special bonding moments. Nini sang "Fruit Salad" to him which he just loved to imitate. He has quite a little personality, too. My favorite new thing he does is say, "ohhh" when you tell him something. Too cute!

Mom and I actually braved the crowds on Friday to do a little bit of shopping. We got a few things marked off the list and we certainly spent some time waiting in lines.

Thanks to Papa for bringing his tools to help with several home projects!

Of course lots and lots of pictures were taken over the course of the holiday weekend. We got to spend a little time at beautiful Green Lakes on Saturday (along with the rest of the city, it seems!). So nice to be out in such gorgeous weather.

Hard to believe that it's almost December, the year is winding down and Christmas will be here and gone before we know it...

Happy Birthday Beautiful Girl!

Addie turned 3 years old today! Hard to believe how quickly three years flies! She was such a good baby - settled into a schedule fairly easily, slept through the night fairly early, was curious, outgoing, never had seperation anxiety, nursed well, ate well, etc., etc... The terrible twos are offiically over, but I hear the threes can be just as challenging. She's a funny little girl with a lot of spunk. Happy Birthday Addie, we love you!

How many birthday parties can an almost 3-year old have?

Why, three of course!!!

Today Addie had her first of three birthday parties with a few playgroup friends. She was SO excited this morning. Last night before bed we started cleaning and setting up for her "party." After her bath she went downstairs and pulled an extra chair up to the table. She put a beaded necklace at each place setting (to go along with the plates that were already at each place). This morning when she woke up the first thing she said was, "we need to put the party hats out!" Then, we iced the cake - she chose yellow and red food coloring for the icing. She picked out green candles! She had a fun time and when it was time to sing Happy Birthday she made sure everyone knew it was HER birthday and HER cake! Oh boy!

We'll make cupcakes tonight to take to school tomorrow. Wonder what color we'll choose to ice the cupcakes?? I'll let you know tomorrow.

The last 7 days --- no sunshine :(

Every Sunday the paper posts the past week's weather statistics - percentage of sunshine, inches of rain, temps, etc. It was a rather depressing report this week. There was not one day that had over 6% of sunshine, and most days were 0% sunshine. OH MY! The forecast isn't looking too good, either. I guess we'll just eat ourselves into a sunshiny state on Thursday and then it won't matter.

Time is ticking to capture the "perfect" Christmas card photo... oh, what am I to do? I haven't done much shooting of BOTH kids lately - it would be helpful if there was more light during the day (gray, gray, gray). They may have a photo shoot coming their way!

Enjoy your Sunday. Hope it's sunny!

I think we're all over our sickness, although Addie was complaining that there was "something in her ear" the other day. She has been sleeping much better so I take that as a good sign. Just a little cough. Jack's ears are dry and infection free one week post-tubes, according to his ENT. He feels so good that he found a new face he likes to make (see photo)! Silly kids.

Our babysitter's mom (who loves the kids) asked if I had taken a picture for the Christmas card yet... AHHHH!!! No, I haven't found "the picture!" I guess I better get working on that since card writing time will be here before I know it. We should probably get through Thanksgiving first. Looking forward to having Nini and Papa here for a visit. I can almost taste the turkey now! Love this time of year.

When it rains, it pours!

Literally and figuratively! Rain, rain go away... boy has it been a gray and dreary weekend. Addie continued to be sick on Saturday and MAMA got sick, too! Oh boy! Addie and I have had a lot of time to bond as we snuggled up on the couch together. I have seen more Noggin shows than I care to imagine! I would have loved to curl up and watch a sappy chick-flick or something, but Little Bear won out. Oh well.

Keep meaning to post this cute picture of Addie's self portrait. This was a school project and the teachers had them look in the mirror and draw what they saw. I think Addie did a great job!

Happy Sunday!

Lots of dogs and a sick little girl

Today was the photo shoot with Toby and Rain, and boy are they cute dogs! Handsome, I should say. Rain loves his duck and Toby is oh, so majestic in his old(er) age.

Jack is better, now Addie is sick. I guess we should get ready for this scenario as we get closer and closer to winter.
Happy Friday!

Strange week!

I think it was just a full moon recently! Things are a little out of sorts at our house! Strange things have been happening.

Jack got tubes in both ears on Tuesday and he did great! I was surprised at how quick the procedure was. He was a brave little boy and bounced right back to his old self in a matter of hours. Then, last night I heard him crying at about 1:30am --- finally went into his room at 2am, since he wasn't going back to sleep and WHAM! He was sick... UGH! I cleaned him up and he and I spent a restless, sleepless night on the futon. Poor guy. Poor Mama! Throw into the mix that Addie got up at 4am and had a hard time falling back to sleep. Finally she did go back to sleep and she slept until almost 7:30. She came bounding in the computer room and she said, "Does Jack feel better???!!!" What a nice little girl!

Addie's teacher reported on Tuesday when I picked her up that she was "aggressive" all day. So disappointing to hear that about your child, but it's bound to happen, I suppose. I hope today has been better for her.

My "photo shoot" with Rain and Toby was cancelled on Wednesday due to rain. Jen's mother-in-law was so happy with the pictures I took of her grandsons that she wants pictures of her two golden retrievers! We've rescheduled for tomorrow, so cross your fingers that all goes as planned and that I am successful in capturing some nice expressions/moments. I'm nervous!

The good thing about this week is that we have a beautiful blue sky today. Everything is better when there is a little sun! Oh, and it's Mama's Night Out tongiht! Looking forward to some adult conversations and mommyhood support!!!!!

No new pictures today - the camera is taking a rest!!!!! More later!

The best picture from the photo shoot!

ok, so it's not the best picture, but it's one of my favorites. Don't know what it is about barefeet - but I love it!!!! Hopefully Jen will be happy with the pictures I took of her family - two ADORABLE boys in constant motion and two adults - whew! I have a lot to learn! Thanks Jen for giving me the opportunity to learn.

Addie and I went swimming at the Y last night. Just us girls. It was fun. I can't believe how fast she's growning. She is such an independant little girl. So full of life!

Ruby

Guess what? No snow yet!!! But it is darn cold!

Tomorrow should be an exciting day - I'm going to my friend Jen's house to take pictures of her beautiful family. I'll let you know how it goes. We may head to the YMCA for some swimming with the kiddos... Addie is very excited about that. I am bound and determined to clean out some clutter in our closets and drawers. We'll be making a trip to Goodwill and also adding some items to Ebay to see if we can make some extra cash!

I was practicing focus and exposure with Ruby today - wish I would have taken off her red collar. I like the colors behind her. We have a couple of beautiful trees still in fall splendor.
Have a good weekend!

Will it snow???

Stay tuned! We may be getting our first true snow of the season tomorrow. Is it all a hype or is it a true possibility??? I'll keep you posted!

Stage Fright

Happy Halloween!!! What an exciting day! Two parties, costumes, lots of candy and some tears. Addie's school had a Halloween Sing today and all of the kids lined up and paraded into the gym for the moms and dads. Addie entered the room and burst out into tears, crying "mama!!!" Literally crying. She did not participate in the sing - but watched her little classmates. I guess you can do that if you're the Queen Bee.

Jack was a cute pumpkin. Both kids enjoyed going trick or treating to a few houses in on the street. Addie wasn't shy about ringing doorbells and exclaiming, "Trick or Treat!" She also loved watching the kids come to our door. She held the candy bowl for them and sometimes even showed them different pieces of candy and asked if they liked that particular kind.

On a non-Halloween related note, Jack has yet another ear infection, so the tube surgery scheduled for next week is a firm deal. I hope it brings some relief to the little guy.

bridal bouquet

bridal
Originally uploaded by stephanieantshel.

We did an awesome wedding this weekend at the flower shop (www.thebackyardgarden for those of you who don't know). I made the bridal bouquet, of which I'm pretty proud! I thought it was gorgeous - the colors and textures were so pretty. The poor bride got rained on all day today, though.

We took a family jaunt to Rochester last night. Kevin and I saw Death Cab for Cutie in concert (we hadn't been to a concert in years!). The kiddos stayed at the hotel with our dear babysitter Patti (thank goodness for Patti!!). It was a quick trip and we're going to make another trip back sometime to visit the Strong Museum (http://www.strongmuseum.org), which we've heard is AWESOME.

The rain will NOT go away and it's rather annoying. ENOUGH ALREADY!

Addie is trying out "3" fingers

One month to go until we're finished with the "terrible twos," although I've heard that the threes aren't much easier at times!

Addie was practicing her fingers the other day- getting ready to hold three of them up. What a big girl!

Jack wakes up from a nap

IMG_9393retouch
Originally uploaded by stephanieantshel.

I love it when the kids first wake up from their naps. Rosy cheeks, big eyes, not sure what's going on or where they are....
here's Jack.
Still playing with the new lens and loving it!

The possibility of snow...

And, I'm only talking a dusting to an inch or so on grassy surfaces... but, the talk of it has made Addie go into a snowy tizzy!!! She told me tonight that she "loves snow" and is "going to dream of snow tonight!!!" Thought that was kinda cute. Here she is getting ready for a major snow storm. Good thing I just washed all of the winter stuff!

I was excited to buy a new lens for my camera today! I had debated whether or not to get a whole new camera ("out with the old, in with the new!!!!"), but the salesperson at Johnson's Camera had some good words of wisdom for me.. "The body essentially just controls the shutter. The glass is what is important" (meaning lenses). I bought a Canon 50mm 1.4, which is a pretty inexpensive lens. I have read good things about it, and have heard that it is a great basic lens to have. Of course I went right home and put it on the camera and started shooting away. So far, so good!!!!

"Bob" and Kerrianne visit CNY

Our friends, Jim (aka, Bud and BOB) and Kerrianne visited us this weekend. We were all so excited to see them - they're a lot of fun and so nice. Kevin and Bud went to the SU game and enjoyed feeling like co-eds again. We ate great food, drank good wine (all of us except Kerrianne, who is expecting in Feb 07!) and laughed about funny times. Addie and Jack had a lot of fun, too.

Trying to learn Photoshop

I have been so curious about Photoshop, wondering if it would be a wise investment for me. I went to the Adobe website and downloaded a free 30-day trial of CS2... I'm hoping to get the most out of the 30 days, but boy, is it involved! I guess I'm a better learner if someone is showing me how to do something. My friend and mentor Genevieve (www.genphotos.com) loaned me a book, but it's still somewhat confusing to me to get some of my photos to look the way I want them to look. I suppose I should just try to realize that this is learning process and I shouldn't expect too much to soon. Perhaps I'll take a class!

For now here is a cute picture of Jack that I tried to alter in CS2. He is "talking" about and pointing to an airplane!

Painting pumpkins

Addie is getting very interseted in Halloween this year. We were invited to a friend's house to paint pumpkins! Here is Addie's beautiful masterpiece. The goal was to get as much paint on the pumpkin as possible. And then more paint. And still more! She had fun and that's all that matters, right?!

brother and sister kiss

brother and sister kiss
Originally uploaded by stephanieantshel.

Another afternoon spent outside. Today wasn't quite as beautiful as the past few days, but at least there wasn't any rain. Addie is so excited about raking the leaves and jumping in them, and Jack just loves to be outside. Addie is becoming more "cooperative" about having her picture taken (with my direction), and she even likes to see it on the LCD screen. Thought this was a cute picture of sibling love!

feet

feet
Originally uploaded by stephanieantshel.

It was a gorgeous late afternoon so I called KQ from work who will periodically say, "you should take pictures of my kids" to see if the whole gang would be home. Not only were all 4 kids there, but so were 3 cousins. What a fun group of kiddos and so darn photogenic. I will have to practice on them more often.

More visitors!

Busy, busy weekend. Quinn and Christi visited from Washington and of course Ms. Shelby got to come along, too. Ruby was very excited to see her.
The weather was absoultely perfect so we took advantage of an SU football game, a pumpkin patch (with a long country road drive), the playground and a well-deserved adult dinner at the Mission. Yummy.

being pulled by a princess

being pulled by a princess
Originally uploaded by stephanieantshel.

We had fun yesterday playing outside. It rained on and off yesterday, but the evening was beautiful. Addie was running around in her leotard and she actually agreed to put her new tutu on! Jack is now walking all over the place and seemed to enjoy testing out his new legs outside. Fall is such a great time of the year - I love the colors and the air. Our trees haven't quite turned yet (some have), so we have several more weeks to enjoy this weather. I wonder if it will snow again this year at the end of Oct. When we moved here 4 years ago it snowed on our move-in day (Nov 1). Oh my!

A visit from Nini and Papa

We had a nice visit with Nini and Papa this past weekend. Addie liked playing Playdough and going apple picking. Jack had fun showing off his new trick, walking!

Ruby shaking

Ruby shaking
Originally uploaded by stephanieantshel.

We took a stroll down the Erie Canal today and Ruby was DYING to jump in. She had fun and the kids liked watching her swim and shake.

laughing up in the air

laughing up in the air
Originally uploaded by stephanieantshel.

I wanted to have a photo shoot with our friend Baby Riley today---- my thoughts were to put her in an adorable pink tutu up against the blue wall in Angel's kitchen (by the window with lots of light). I thought the blue wall would compliment the blue in Riley's eyes... well, nothing really went as planned. I have so much to learn!!! Riley HATED the tutu!!!! I was able to get a couple of pictures that were pretty cute, though. Here is one.

A day at the park! It's always fun to go to the park. We left the house with bright blue skies and by the time we got down the road the dark clouds started to roll in. Addie was afraid we'd get "caught in a rainstorm," but it didn't rain after all.
We had fun.

peekaboo jack

peekaboo jack
Originally uploaded by stephanieantshel.

What a cutie!

Friday!

Well, wish I could say the work week was over, but that doesn't happen being a mom!
Fall is in the air - still have lots of flowers blooming in the yard so I thought I'd snap a picture of this beautiful cosmo that I grew from seed.