New Year's Eve!

We had the kids this year for New Years Eve and during the day we went and hung out at the Galleria and rode the carousal with Nannie. When we got home, we told the kids they could stay up until midnight but I was VERY tired come about 9pm so we switched on the East coast ball drop and...BAM. 9pm = Midnight as far as the kids were concerned :)

Christmas Time!

 This year we had the kiddos for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning (they went to their other parents for Christmas Day fun!). We made sugar cookies for Santa last night and the kids left their wish lists. We also went to Aunt Lynn's house for more presents and an epic dinner! They woke up ready for their treats and were not disappointed :) I love this time of year!

Gnocchi Making with Nannie

 A start of a new family tradition...making Gnocchi with Nannie! She showed the kids how to make these delicious little morsels and we cooked them. Can't wait for next year (we will have one more kiddo to teach the method to)!

Getting Ready for Winter!

Drew and Ava decorating the tree

Looking for an early arrival by Santa perhaps?

Our second tiny Christmas tree with more important ornaments on it

The cat taking apart the decorated Christmas Tree

Trip to the snow! (which was relatively hard to find this year!)

He licked the snow for a good 5+ min.

Snow consuming heaven.

Raising This Boy Right!

Drew loves his mom. His mom loves falling asleep to head rubs. His future wife can thank me :)

A Family Made Official

After a decently rough year for us, this was the absolute highlight! This was the wedding of my dreams...just Sotirios, Myself, Drew (Sotirios' best man), Ava (my maid of honor) and our two best friends Eric Philbin (who got ordained and married us) and Darcie Carrier (who witnessed for us and made all the beautiful flower arrangements). We picked up the kids and drove to Chimney Beach in Tahoe (which could not have been a more beautiful setting). After our wedding (and toasting with Apple Cider), grandma offered to watch the kiddos and put them to bed and Eric took us out to an amazing dinner at Ella in Sacramento (the restaurant Sotirios and I went on our first real date). I couldn't love my family more and they make my heart so very happy!

It's apple cider...and my favorite picture of all time.

Guess Who is Going to be a Big Brother??

Having already lost a pregnancy this year, we are so blessed and overjoyed to be expecting again! Time to start the pregnancy blog for brother/sister just like I did with Andrew :)

So Much Amazing Blackmail!

This is a normal occurrence in our household during Andrew's showers. Doesn't mean it isn't epic :)

Ice Skating with Mom

 Each year, Sutter Street in old Folsom installs an ice rink! Drew has definitely gotten better over the years...he even eventually ditched the walker and went out on his own!

My Favorite Journal Entry

Each day the kids in Drew's class write a journal page about anything they want to...today, I was Andrew's inspiration and everything about it makes me so happy!

Co-Parenting Done Right! BAM!

My heart was so happy to see this picture Andrew drew of his family. He included himself, me, his dad, Sotirios, Jaime and Ava :)

Special Request of Andrew to Post This...

And I quote, "This is my pancake dog. I need it on my blog so I can remember it forever." -Andrew

A Little Culture for My Bugs...

Today I thought it would be fun to take the kiddos to a play at the Three Stages Center in Folsom. Tonight's showing...HOOK! They loved the show and we stayed after to get some signatures in their programs :)

Halloween Has Arrived!

 Drew got to spend this year with his Dad and he went trick or treating as none other than...BATMAN!

But of course, he also gets a costume for moms for the fun of it! His choice was a Ninja!

Drew decorating his pumpkins

Ava's pumpkins are on the top and Andrew's are on the bottom

Getting Ready for Halloween!

The kids opted for buckets this year as opposed to the pillow cases last year. This is serious business, you know.

Here We Go Again...Sigh

So I got a call from Andrew's school nurse saying something has gotten stuck in his ear. How you ask? Andrew. (Although he tells me it magically rolled into his ear without him knowing when he was playing on the playground). Apparently he learned nothing from the light bright up the nose incident. This time it was a little, green airsoft pellet he found on the playground. It was lodged so far into his ear, we couldn't see it anymore...so off to the doctor's we go! After the nurses try and flush it out with water to no avail, the doctor had to come in and use a pair of long tweezers to dig it out. Ouch! She gave Andrew a cup to keep his reminder to never shove anything in his ear again. Let's hope the lesson sticks this time!

The Trio.

Drew, Chloe & Ava

These three are ridiculous when they get together. Best friends for life!

Drew and the Praying Mantis

We went over to Grandma & Grandpa Hill's house today and Drew found this little guy. He's much braver than I am...YUCK!

Drew' First School Pic

 It's not a "real" Andrew smile but we've seen worse! haha

Getting into the Halloween Spirit!

Every year Snooks has this bad boy on display! I can't wait for fall!!

Feeding the Ducks with Nannie

Horseback Riding Lesson Pro

I got the kids some horseback riding lessons to try it out today! Drew's horse was named Party and Drew did great controlling him and following instructions! Maybe we will sign him up for a few more lessons!

Firetruck Awesomeness

Today we went to a pretty epic car show with Grandpa Frank and Judy and some firemen happened to be there too! They let the kids hope inside and check out a real firetruck :)

Oh Man...More Blackmail!

After School Treats!

If Drew has a really good day at school, I like to treat him to a snack at the local burger/icecream joint Taylors. This kid only consumes squishies and snow cones...no ice cream. Must be daddy's side of the family ;)

This Made Me Laugh Harder Than It Should Have...

Look What We Grew!

Small but mighty! Hope it get big enough to eat...

Welcome to the Family, Cookie!

He is technically Ava's birthday present, but the whole family agreed to love and take care of him :)