October's Random Ramblings

ABIGAIL

• I picked Abby up from school one day and she looked at me and said, in a very serious voice, "Mommy I am sorry, but they MADE me make an Ohio State necklace at school today.  I am sorry its not a Wisconsin one, I didn't have a choice."  She was truly upset.  I told her it was ok and that I loved her necklace, but it wasn't until she go the ok from Andrew that she would actually wear it.
• One night at dinner my tummy gurgled very loudly and Abby asked if it was her brother tooting!
• Abby told me that even though her brother won't be born yet, she wants to get him a Christmas present anyway!  So sweet!

OLIVIA:

• We were in the car on our way to pick Abby up from Pre-K and Olivia had some very heavy eyelids.  I looked in the rearview mirror and asked, "Are you tired, pumpkin?" and she perked up and said, "I'm not a pumpkin, I'm Olivia!"
• We were having breakfast at the table one Sunday morning and Andrew was drinking a Gatorade.  Olivia said, "Is that your beer, Daddy?"
• We had to run into the store one day to pick up a few things.  As we pulled into the Target parking lot Olivia said, "I no want to go to Target.  It's too boring!!"

NYC--Randoms

Here are just a few random shots from our trip that didn't really fit in anywhere else!

Daddy and Olivia when we went out to lunch in Long Island right by the water.

By the mariana after lunch. 

 Abby didn't want to have her picture taken, so she took the picture for us!

On our way home. 

 Olivia and Abby loved the sleeping masks my Dad and Jane gave them.

The drive home was beautiful.  The fall leaves were beginning to change colors. 

Wish I could have gotten a better picture, but this is what you get while driving at 70 MPH!

NYC--Sightseeing

Our second full day in the city was very busy, but lots of fun.  We took the Staten Island Ferry to get a good view of the Statue of Liberty, followed by a stroll through battery park.  The girls were very excited when they got their first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty.  It was funny because the day before Abby kept asking about every statue we passed in the city and asking if that was the Statue of Liberty.  She was very impressed when she finally saw the real deal!  After Battery park we found a nice little NY deli and had a yummy lunch.  We then headed over Central Park and decided that the best way to see the park with the girls was to take a carriage ride through the park.  It was awesome and the girls absolutely LOVED it.  After that we made our way back to Penn Station so that we could head back to Long Island.  We stopped for dirty water dogs, huge popsicles, people watching and walked through Time Square.  It was an awesome day in the city with my family, we all had a wonderful time!

Abby with the ticket-taker on the train.  He even made the girls little men out of their tickets with his hole-punch in true "Polar Express" fashion.

He let Abby wear his hat!

The Staten Island Ferry.  

The best deal in NYC--FREE!!!!

Papi, Andrew and the girls having a snack on the ferry.

Lady Liberty

Getting ready to go our our carriage ride.

Our horse "Duke"

The girls loved the carriage ride!

Me and my hunny!

Daddy and Livy checking out the sights.

Family shot

Papi and Grammy Jane had a romantic ride with just the 2 of them!

When our ride was over, the girls got to feed the horses some carrots!

Look at those teeth!!!!!

NYC took its toll on Olivia and she passed out in the stroller on the way back to the train station.

Good Morning America

In preparation for our trip to New York my Dad sent away for tickets to a ton of different shows.  He ended up getting free tickets for Good Morning America and The Tonight Show. He got 4 tickets for GMA and only two for The Tonight Show so I tagged along to GMA.  Our GMA tickets were for the morning after we arrived in NY and we had to leave my grandparents house at 4:45 am in order to be in the city on time to wait in line.  Overall it was pretty cool to see and say I have been to something like that, but I don't think it is something I would do again.  It was a lot of standing up and waiting in line to see about 20 minutes worth of actual show time.  Like I said, it was a cool experience, but nothing I will be doing again in the near future.

The line waiting to get into the show.

My Aunt Lynda and Dad waiting in line.

Picture op!

While we were waiting inside the studio for something to happen, 

we were able to take some pictures on the set

The hostess; Robin Roberts.

We also got a glimpse of George Stephanopoulos but I wasn't able to get a picture of him!

 This is Selena Gomez, she was the musical act that we got to see.

She is on the Disney Channel show Wizards of Waverly Place.

We also saw an interview with Mehcad Brooks from the new show My Generation and a segment on how to travel cheap this fall.

FAO Schwarz

The first full day we were in NY Andrew had the girls in the morning by himself since I went to Good Morning America with my Dad and Aunt Lynda.  He decided to brave the 45 minute train ride from Long Island into the city by himself with both girls to meet us in the city after the show was over.  We met him at Penn Station and the first order of business was getting some breakfast.  We wen to The Pop-over Cafe and the popovers were absolutely awesome.  If you are ever in NY and like popovers I would recommend giving this place a try.  After our brunch Andrew and I took the girls to FAO Schwarz, the huge toy store over on 5th avenue.  The girls had a blast looking at all the toys, we were there for quite a while checking it all out.  We were lucky in the sense that the girls were really good about just looking at the toys and not wanting to buy a ton of things.  We got out of there only buying Abby's Dorothy costume for Halloween!  After FAO Shwarz we walked around the city a bit and tried to figure out what we wanted to do the next day and then we headed back to Long Island for dinner with my family.

Andrew and the girls on the train

"

The girls thought the train was great, which was a good thing since it was over a 1/2 ride each way!

The FAO Schwarz toy soldier. 

Olivia wouldn't get near him for a picture.

So many stuffed animals!

On the look out tower.

This is the piano from the movie "Big".  The girls LOVED it and were playing on it forever.  We had a hard time getting them to leave!

Happy 2nd Birthday Olivia

My Dearest Olivia,

I can't believe my baby girl is 2 years old already.  In many ways you seem older and people are always surprised when they ask your age and I tell them you aren't even 2 yet.  I am sure its a mixture of your personality and the fact that you have an older sister, but you seem to be beyond your age.  In many ways you are growing up too quickly.  But there are times when I see glimpses of my little baby and I love the mixture of baby and big girl that you have become.

You talk all the time.  I guess you are in some sort of competition with your sister to see who can talk more!  I do have to interpret quite a bit because I think your vocabulary is a bit ahead of your age, but you seem to understand everything and you have an opinion on everything as well.  You have 2 volumes; loud and louder.  You have a hard time finding your "inside" voice.  I guess you are just so excited about life and what you have to say about it that you feel the need to let the entire world know what you are thinking and feeling at any given moment.

Your sense of humor keeps us on our toes and always laughing.  Its sort of a dry, sarcastic sense of humor that is all your own.  Sometimes its in the way you walk, or the voice you use to talk, or just the way you look at us.  It is hard to explain, its so sophisticated for 2 year old.  I think its your biggest and best trait and I am sure you will continue to use it to your advantage, as you already do!

You are truly a Daddy's girl.  Whenever Daddy is around you want him to "do it", whatever "it" may be, from changing your diaper, to getting you out of the car.  He is the first person you ask about when you wake up in the morning and the last person you see before you go to bed at night.  Of course this makes me just the slightest bit jealous, but I love seeing your special relationship with your Daddy.

Your sister holds a close second to Daddy.  You cry more when she leaves than when I do!  You had a hard time the first couple of weeks of school, but you are getting better.  Although there are times when I see that look in your eyes when we drop her off, and I quickly remind you that we will pick her up in just a few hours which usually puts you at ease.  You girls play so well together (most of the time) and you are best friends.  The bond you are forming is something that leaves me in awe and wanting to see more.

Olivia, you are an amazing little girl.  I can't imagine our lives without you.  I have LOVED watching you grow, explore, and learn and I look forward to the next year with you.  I can't wait to see you go from being a little sister to being a big sister.  I can't wait to see you become more independent and do more "big girl" things.  I can't wait to hear the things that come out of your mouth,  I can't wait to love you, and continue to watch you grow, explore and learn.  Happy Birthday my sweet little 2 year old!


I love you with all of my heart,
Mommy

NYC--Family Edition

The main purpose for our recent trip to NY was to visit my grandparents.  We decided to go the weekend of my Dad's birthday since he and my stepmom would be out visiting at the same time and we could spend some time with them as well!  It was so, so, so wonderful to see my grandparents and have my kids spend time with a part of my family that has been so important, special, and influential in my life.  I was over-joyed to see how well both of the girls took to them, it was like they had known them for years!  My grandparents hold a very special place in my heart and I hope to be able to visit more often now that we are a bit closer and see the relationship my children will develop with them!

Olivia with Pop-pop and Gramma-ma in the background

Olivia and Gramma-ma

Abby, Papi and Gramma-ma

Grammy Jane, my cousin Lyndsay, myself, Olivia, Papi

 ...and my Aunt Lynda in the background.

I think this is a sweet picture of Pop-pop and Abby.

We were on our way to eat breakfast at our favorite spot in Manhassett, Louie's Deli

Getting ready for bed

The girls with "Uncle Ricky"

Ricky is my cousin and he is wonderful with the kids, they just LOVE him!

Gramma-ma and Olivia

Abby and Gramma-ma

Abby and Gramma-ma spent hours coloring one afternoon.  

I don't know who enjoyed it more!

My Grandma loves to play cards.  She taught Abby how to play slap-jack while we were there.

And of course, Olivia had to get in on the action too!

Olivia and Lyndsay

Ricky and Olivia