Snow Much Fun!

Today was our first opportunity this winter to take the girls out into the snow. They really seemed to have a lot of fun. Abby just keeps repeating over and over, "Snow is white!" Even though there wasn't too much snow on the ground, it was prefect packing snow, so we managed to build a pretty big snowman. The girls had fun helping us roll the balls of snow and decorating the snowman's face. We decided to make him a "hockey player," equipped with hockey balls for eyes, a puck for a nose, and a hockey stick in hand. What a great time!

Oh Christmas Tree

This year, we decided to buy the girls their own Christmas tree for their bedroom. Together, we decorated it tonight with a variety of ornaments ranging from the nativity scene to Mickey and Minnie Mouse (which were their absolute favorite!). The girls haven't quite gotten the concept yet that once you place the ornaments on the tree, you leave them there! The ornaments went on and came off numerous times, which in the end, resulted in a fallen tree (as you'll see in the picture below).

As you can see, Leah is pointing and at the same time yelling, "ABBY!"

First Haircut

Today the girls both had their first haircut. They both did such a great job! Leah was happy regardless of what was happening to her, because she had her little stuffed Minnie doll (which was hiding under her cape). Once and a while, Abby wanted her Mommy, but Shannon quickly distracted her and she was fine. Overall, they both did better than we ever expected for their first haircut!

Happy Halloween!

Last night, we had a blast trick-or-treating with the girls. We decided this year to go as a family, each dressing as a character from The Wizard of Oz. We had so much fun! The girls did great! They each left their costumes on for well over two hours. They were alittle unsure about the whole concept at first, but quickly got the idea! We didn't make it to every house in the neighborhood, but we did get a lot of candy! They each very much enjoyed sampling their goodies at the end of the evening. We are already looking forward to next Halloween and continuing this new, fun family tradition!

Pumpkin Carving Challenge 2008

Last Halloween, Ryan and I decided to challenge each other to a pumpkin carving contest. We each carved a face as well as a haunted house. We had so much fun that we decided to make it a yearly tradition. This year, however, Halloween was here before we knew it, and we only had time to create our own pumpkin face. However, this year we are asking family and friends to vote for their favorite pumpkin face! So please take a minute to cast your vote at the top of our blog. Happy Halloween!

Twin Picasso Pumpkins

Last week, we took the girls to the nearest pumpkin patch (aka A&M Greenhouse) to pick out their pumpkins. It was fun to see them running around from pumpkin to pumpkin until they found the perfect one. As we watch them now, it is so hard to believe that last year at this time, they were still crawling and would have rather eaten the pumpkins than decorated them.

Since it was such a beautiful day, we decided to decorate the pumpkins in the backyard. The girls each chose from a variety of features to create their very own pumpkin face.

Leah & Abby were so proud of their beautiful masterpieces! (A little Picasso looking, don't you think?)

Outer Banks '08

Several weeks ago, we headed south to the Outer Banks for a family vacation. Along with the Fanelli family, we stayed for a week in the beautiful town of Southern Shores. The weather was absolutely wonderful and the girls had a great time! Leah loved the ocean (even though it was a bit on the chilly side) and Abby loved collecting seashells and digging in the sand.

Our beautiful house for the week....

A short walk to the beach ....

Our first steps on the sand in '08. As you can see, it was extremely crowded!

What a wonderful week!