Playing Catch up!

Dad and I are carving out our pumpkin!

This is my Queen costume for Halloween!  Do you love it or what?

Giana loves playing with Murphy.  She especially likes to roll on his bed (eh!) and she was in mid-roll when this picture was taken. 

Giana is petting a goat.  She loved seeing the farm animals at the pumpkin patch.

We went to the pumpkin patch with Grandma and Grandpa and we even found a white "ghost" pumpkin!

Here is Grandpa carving the ghost pumpkin.

Here is the finished product!  Ta Da!

Boo hoo hoo!  Mom made the Boo! cake this year but some duck ain't so happy about it. 

We're happy now!

Got cozy?

Got turkey? :)

This is Thanksgiving meal.  We are almost ready to eat here.

Grandpa made some delicious no bake cookies.  I think I only had one.  I am not sure who ate the rest...

Hope everyone had a great holiday season and wishing a fantastic 2012 year!

Our Trip to Charleston and Fripp Island, SC!

We went to Charleston in October and had a great time with friends and family!  This is a get-together party we had at the Holland's home.  It was a great night to see old friends and catch up!





We met the Bennetts at the South Carolina Aquarium and here we are outside with the Cooper River Bridge behind us. 

(In no particular order;)...) Here is Toni and Risa and Sallie Holland. 

Mr. Robert, Dad, Mr. Laban, and Ms.. Sallie look like they are all having a good time having dinner and chatting.  Dad has known Ms. Sallie since he was 3 years old!

Here's Ms. Sallie, Tyler, Dad, Mr. Robert, Ms. Melanie and Mr. Roman in the back row.  In the front row is Mr. Jesse, Ms. Toni (who we met in Spokane and they drove through Charleston and we got to see them-they moved to Atlanta 7 months ago), Ms. Olivia and Mom in the front. 

We had such a fun time with the Bennetts. I was so happy and giddy the whole time I was with Risa!

In Beaufort, we visited Mom's old friend Ms. Katherine and her two wonderful boys.  Here is Giana with Ford. 

Giana loooved seeing the amazing fish and sea creatures at the aquarium. 

Giana and Tali played in the childrens section at the aquarium.  Aren't they cute? :)

Here I am with Vann, who is Ford's older brother.  We had such a great time with them out for lunch, at the park and playing at their house! 

Papa just loooved giving Giana lots of hugs and kisses.  She loved them!  Giana talks about "Papa" everyday. 

Giana is such a sweet, easy-going baby.  Here is one of her big smiles!

I'm getting some great hugs and love from Papa and JoJo too.  They are fantastic!

Awesome beach fun with the Chapmans and the Larsons!  We cast nets in shallow pools and caught lots of tiny fish and shrimp and several blue crabs too!  We had so much fun exploring sea life!

This is Giana having a complete blast running around on the beach and squealing!!!  It was such a cute sight to see!

This is my Dad resting on the beach.  :)

We visited with Nana too.  It was so nice to see her!  Giana is clearly unhappy here, but we all had a great visit. 

Nana is giving me great hugs!

Happy 70th Birthday to Papa!!!  We had such a fun time with you all in South Carolina.  Everyone made it a memorable trip.  Thank you!!!

Cooks in the kitchen

We have started baking our Halloween Boo! cupcakes this year and we decided to try them as cupcakes too. They didn't turn out so well. They were flat and kind of oozy all the over the pan, but still quite delicious. It sure didn't stop any of us (or Murphy who stole one off the kitchen counter) from inhaling them! ;) Ugly, but yummy. It looks like Giana is asking me to put the camera down while she seriously enjoys her cupcake. Okay. Will do. :)

Sofia decided that it was a good day to make some deviled eggs. She peeled, cut, and stuffed the eggs all by herself. I was standing very closely and nervously at first with the knife in her hand and the other cradling the egg, but she did just fine. They were good!

Sofia loves to bake and cook. Once in a while, I have left Ina Garten or Giada on the cooking channel on television and I have returned to find Sofia mesmerized.

Hoo! Hoo! Who's ready for Halloween? Maybe this scary Sofia face? :) We looooove Halloween around here. We pulled out all the decorations October 1.

Giana's baptism

Giana was baptised in August. She wore the same gown that I wore for my baptism. Her godmother is Aunty Mia and the godfather is Big Face Tom. I apparently was burning it on both ends that I fell asleep in the pews. ;)

This is Papa giving Giana hugs and kisses. So sweet!

Here is Giana giving kisses to Papa.

Honk honk! This made Giana really laugh!

Giana and Mom look happy and ready for the baptism!

Giana is getting dressed. It was a great ceremony and we were so happy that our family could come out to be a part of it. It was wonderful to spend time with them. :)

I'm Four!

We celebrated my birthday last month (July 24th) at a nearby park. We had a pinata. The pinata look many many swings before it collapsed and exploded with lots of candy!

Ahhhh! Here I am with my ladylug pinata. I just stuffed it with several bags of candy. That was fun!

Here I am with my good friend and classmate Victoria and Emma (right) and of course my wonderful sister Giana! Giana clearly has the look of victory with that awesome cupcake that Daddy made (64 of them!) in her hands! :)

I am getting ready to blow out my candle! I had such a fantastic day. I was so glad to see so many of my friends, play, and celebrate! Four is a great number!

Bend Fun

We went to visit our friends the Rothamels in Bend, Oregon in June. They took us out on their boat. We had so much fun! I'm just making sure my bellybutton is still there. ;)

I crawled into this box and Charlotte thought it was funny.

Here's my big sister Sofia hugging Charlotte (her Dad is Mr. Big Face Tom). They're old friends. They did the same hug/pose in the same place over 2 years ago.

Sleepy? I guess this is what happens when I wake up at 5 a.m. I had a carrot cupcake that Mom made around 10 am and fell asleep in my high chair. Sofia was having a snack too and when she saw me, she quietly called for Mom and said, "Mom. You really have to come see this. You really do." I guess Sofia thought it was pretty amusing too!

Mom brought my comforter and sheets downstairs to wash and I decided it was the perfect opportunity to make myself into a pupa. It was so cozy. I loved it!