My First Sledding Experience

New Year's Eve Day was a sunny day with lots of snow outside so I took Abbie sledding...As Abbie put it "No Like Sledding." It started out fine, being pulled along on a baby sled but going down the hill (with mommy) was another story. She cried. But at the bottom she enjoyed dragging the sled.

Our backyard has a wonderful hill for sledding so Abbie will have to try again!

Moving Day!

This morning we trekked over to our new home early to start waiting for the deliveries to come...first the new kitchen table and entertainment stand (for Eric's new 52" LCD HD TV). Then our stuff came from storage...what a treat to see those boxes and boxes and boxes...you don't realize how much you miss your stuff until you don't have them. Then the TV arrived as well as the washing machine.

While the movers were bringing in our stuff Abbie was having lots of fun running around her new house with Grandma and Grandpa. Thank goodness they came to help. Once all the boxes were in the fun began, unpacking. First the kitchen, then Abbie's toys and finally Abbie's room. I think we made good headway the first day. But the paper that our stuff was wrapped in was everywhere.


One of the last things the movers put together was Abbie's crib. When she saw it she screamed "ABBIE'S CRIB!!!" She was so excited to see it, especially after sleeping in a pack and play for about 8 weeks. She basically climbed right in and took a good nap!

One of Abbie's favorite activities during the unpacking phase of moving was peeling the stickers off of the boxes. At one point she had us all walking around with stickers on our noses.

Our New Home

Today we closed on our new home. We are very excited to be getting out of our temporary housing situation and into our new home. We move in tomorrow. YEAH

Abbie's First Real Snowstorm

Today was the first real significant snowstorm of the season. The snow arrived around noon and was finished by 9 dumping about 10" on the ground. It was beautiful for us inside but to Eric is was a terrible commute home from work and he was in the closer office and left at 2...what should have been a 15 minute ride home took him 2 hours. He walked in the door and said we were moving back. Our winter wonderland.

Abbie all bundled up and ready to go outside for her first real snow experience.

Abbie isn't too sure about the snow...it is up to her knees, hard to walk in and cold.

Oh, and she didn't like the snow on her boots or gloves...she said it was dirty and wanted us to clean them off.

Welcome to winter!

Hanukkah with Grandma and Grandpa

Grandma and Grandpa came up to Massachusetts to surprise us and celebrate Hanukkah over the weekend. It was great to see them and light the candles with them. Just one reason why living back east is so nice...surprise visits (or visits at all.)

We can't just leave the house...

In order to get out of the house, even if its just to run a quick errand we need to remember all the gear...backpack filled with animals (dinosaur, cow, rabbit, little baby, bear, duck and pink bear) plus another baby and sometimes something else, as in this picture, the tags from a toy or something, or as she says, Abbie's book. Gotta love being 2!

Family Hanukkah Party 2007

On Thanksgiving weekend we had our annual Hanukkah party with extended family.


Great-Grandpa tickling Abbie's feet...she kept telling him "more and other foot."

This year Abbie finally could enjoy the idea of opening her presents.

Abbie didn't quite grasp the concept that they weren't all hers but she did a good job of sharing with her cousins.



Grandma made Abbie an apron to hold her crayons when she colors and Rachel a backpack that has a picture of her favorite character at the moment, Hannah Montana.


Grandma and Grandpa did well, or Grandma was happy when it came to their gift. As you can tell by the editing to the card, Grandpa wasn't sure the gift was really for him. It was and he will enjoy it as well. Grandma was truly surprised and loved it!

Great Grandpa was happy with his present...a case of Vintage Seltzer (his favorite!)


After the party was over, the kids had too much sugar and were over tired, Veronica, Diego and Abbie tried to climb into Abbie's crib. Only Veronica succeeded but the others got pretty close.

All in all it was a great, busy weekend!

Thanksgiving 2007

After watching the parade and taking a nap it was off to Aunt Fran and Uncle Allan's house for a yummy feast.

I spent some time hanging out with my sister and cousins...

Then I tortured Rufus and made him wear my pearls....

After a yummy dinner ( I loved the sweet potatoes soaked in bourbon) it was time to celebrate my birthday one more time. This time I shared a cake with my cousins, Diego and Veronica, who also have November birthdays.
And finally I got to play with my new doll highchair. I got right to work feeding my baby some fruit.It was a great Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Day Parade

With the weather approaching 60 degrees what a great way to start Thanksgiving with a trip into NYC to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in person. Piling into the car at 8:20 am (we were aiming to leave at 8 - so not too bad) we made our way into the city with no traffic. It was crowded but Rachel manage to find a space up front and Abbie had the best seat in the house...on grandpa's shoulders.
The first balloon was all Abbie needed to see...one of her favorite characters on Sesame Street...Abby Caddabby. And then a float came by of Sesame Street...a perfect day in Abbie's book.
When we saw Mr. Potato Head it brought back memories of playing at Caroline's house in San Francisco.

And after the parade we walked back to the car...A perfect day for a parade.

The First Taste of Winter

Well, we woke up this morning and what did we see...snow falling and sticking to the grass and trees. This was not a day to stay in, we had things to do, like put an offer on a house...so welcome to New England winter. Abbie thought the snow was rain and then got upset when it stuck to my hair. She enjoyed wearing her jacket and hat. No complaints from her. She even wanted to keep it on when we got to our destination.



Oh and we can't leave the house without backpack (one of 2 different ones) filled with her animals and baby. It just takes us a little longer to walk down the path lugging her heavy bag.


By 1:30 the snow was gone and it was raining. Gotta love the weather.

Fall in Massachusetts

We had a few hectic first days in Massachusetts. We looked at houses in two towns and Abbie was a real trooper. Eric left for a business trip on Wednesday so Abbie and I had the day to ourselves. We had no appointments or plans so we did Abbie's favorite thing...we went to the playground. It was a crisp, sunny fall day and Abbie had lots of fun playing with the leaves, something she had never really done before. Of course the next day rained so we were stuck in the townhouse but we made the most of it.

The last few days in San Francisco

Our last few days in San Francisco were bittersweet. Eric was in Omaha for training and I was busy with the packers and cleaning out the house preparing for the big move east. Abbie spent a lot of her time with her BFF Caroline, Baby James and her 2nd mom Sheila. Thank goodness for good friends. We had a final dinner with Caroline, Hunter, Auggie and Liam and the final farewell playground day. We are all going to miss our San Francisco friends and look forward to visiting them and having them visit us. They are a big part of our lives and will be sorely missed.

Good-bye hugs for LiamA good-bye kiss for Caroline

The Twins - At least that's what everyone says...

When we would go to the playground with the two girls, Caroline and Abbie, everyone would ask if they were twins (6 weeks apart - so it would be an awfully long labor). Baba (Caroline's Grandma) made them matching sweaters which Abbie just loves.

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Today is Abbie's 2nd birthday! She woke up this morning and wanted cake. Surprise, surprise. She had a small birthday party with friends. Can you guess the theme? ELMO and friends!!! It was also a going away party and the last time we will see some of our friends before leaving San Francisco.

Abbie and Bingo starting the party early in the morning!

Hanging out with friends

I love my Elmo and Big Bird Cake

Chilling with mom and dad