Monday, December 28, 2009

Christmas 2009

This holiday season was an exciting one. Of course, I baked too many cookies and spent too much money but the kids had a wonderful time. The kids and I went to my mom and grandmother's on Christmas Eve to open gifts; my aunt and uncle met us there with many more gifts. Connor was so excited to see his very first big boy guitar...I hope he takes to it-he loves music. Paige and Bree were given twin baby dolls that are able to talk and sing back and forth through a sensor on the sides of their heads. It's pretty amazing to watch. The best part of the day was watching the girls open their gifts for the first time. Never have they tore into a gift and it was a sight to see. That evening the kids received their traditional Christmas Eve pajamas from Santa before Connor wrote Santa a note and left out cookies and milk.

Bright and early the next morning, Connor was ready to go and minutes later every gift was open. I feel so very fortunate to have such a wonderful husband who is able to provide our family with such happiness. The morning was followed by dinner made by Pete's mom. It was a wonderful ending to a wonderful holiday. Here are a few pics of the holiday.



Yummy cookies




Christmas Eve

at Grandma's house
The girls got a keyboard...
and Connor got a guitar
The talking dolls...too cute
Pete and the girls with Pete's mom









so many toys!



















Sunday, December 20, 2009

Connor's Class Christmas Party


Connor had been looking forward to this day for weeks. Not only because it was the last day of school before winter break, but because of all the candy and cookies he knew he would be eating. I was able to attend with another set of parents and watch the kids fill up on Pigs in a Blanket, chips, and lots of sweets. The Grinch who stole Christmas played in the backround while the boys and girls shared what they wanted for Christmas. I haven't had the chance to spend much time in his classroom and know very little about his new friends. It was quite an experience!

Here's the ornament he made for the family!

Paige and Bree's Christmas Party

This past week has been filled with Christmas activities at school for the kids. Thursday was Paige and Bree's Christmas party...filled with singing and crafts and lots of cookies. The girls class joined the blended class to sing carols and other fun holiday songs for all the parents and family members. While the girls didn't actually sing, they had a great time listening to all the other children. The teachers set up several craft stations were the children made ornaments, Rudolph puppets, playdough cookies, and (the girls favorite) a pool filled with ribbon and tinsel to play in. It was a wonderful day spent with the girls in their class.


Paige, Bree, and Ms. Pio







Paige loved making this ornament



Paige pasting Rudolph's nose on


Bree and Pete gluing Rudolph antlers on


The ribbon and tinsel pit

Playing with their friend Noah




Daddy helping Bree down the slide


Having some cookies and juice


Turned out to be a beautiful day


Paige and Mrs. Casey

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Storybook Parade

Today I was invited to Edgewater Elementary for the annual Storybook Parade. Children throughout the school dressed up as their favorite storybook character and walked the parade route along the front of their school for all their parents, friends, and family. Paige and Bree were part of the story "The Very Busy Spider". Mrs. Casey and Ms. Pio decorated their wagon to look like a spider and the girls dressed in all black. It was such a cute sight. One class dressed in their pajamas and had chicken pox drawn on their skin. Each class seemed to have a theme and it was a great way to get all the kids excited about ready. I'm so grateful that our daughters were able to be a part of it.

Here are a few photos from today:









Sunday, November 1, 2009

Happy Halloween


The girls and I had a fun day dressing up as our favorite little bugs. As you can see Paige was a Lady Bug, Bree was a Bumble Bee, and I was a butterfly. We stopped by to see Pete before heading to Canal Street to do some Trick or Treating and people watching. After that, we came home and the girls and I gave out candy...the kids were in awe, since we gave out full sized candy bars and M&Ms. It had been a long day and the girls went to bed with little fuss. We missed Connor very much and I'm sure he had a great time! Below is a slideshow of the pictures taken yesterday.

Halloween 2009

Click here to view these pictures larger

Friday, October 30, 2009

October 29, 2009 will be a day to remember!

Yesterday was quite the day for our girls. Not only was it their 3rd birthday, but their first day of school and the day Bree received her new wheelchair.

The morning started off pretty good...everyone was up bright and early and still a little sleepy. Their lunches were packed the night before and their clothes were already picked and laid out. Breakfast went smoothly and by 7:15 everyone was dressed and ready to go. Connor was dropped off at his school before we head just a short drive down the road to the girls new school. We arrived just as all their classmates arrived on the bus and the girls were the first one's to class. We put their bags and lunchboxes in their own cubbies and let them get settled in before heading home. Once we arrived home I came to the realization that I have no kids to unload, no mess to clean up and it was a nice feeling. I spent most of the morning on the phone telling everyone about their morning and after some light cleaning it was time to head back to school to pick everyone up. Ms. Casey, the girls' teacher, filled us in on their day. She made the comment on how the girls were a "handful". That's saying something, from an ESE teacher who's dealt with Special Needs kids for over twenty years. Despite a slight meltdown from Bree the girls had a great first day of school.

Shortly after getting home we received a call from the man who was responsible for delivering Bree's new wheelchair. He was running behind and didn't arrive till after 5pm. By the time he assembled and adjusted everything it was after 8pm and everyone was exhausted. There are still a few pieces that need to be ordered due to them being the wrong size or not arriving, so we'll have to wait before she can use it.

Because of all the excitement of starting school and getting a wheelchair, the birthday was somewhat overshadowed. To think about everything we have been through the past three years only proves to me how strong of a family we really are. We had many scares over that time, not knowing if they'd survive and if they did, what quality of life would they have. To look at them today I finally accepted who they are and no matter what happens they will always be OUR LITTLE ANGELS!