Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade part 2

After a little nap we were refreshed and ready for some sight seeing. First we hit the vendor on the sidewalk. Timmy had to have a pretzel and Maura wanted a hot dog. A little farther down we got some candied nuts. We walked to Rockefeller plaza and saw the huge Christmas tree and the ice skating rink. Next we walked to Time Square, took a bunch of pictures, and found a place to eat lunch. The kids started get really tired, so we headed back and caught a picture of the Empire State Building. T.J. and Anthony went and got some cannoli and cheesecake for us and we vegged and visited in Anthony and Camille's room.

That night Topher cried all night and was inconsolable. We had planned on going to ground zero the next morning, but we knew we had to try to get him to the doctor. We dosed him with Tylenol and headed out. He slept most of the way, but we could tell he didn't feel good at all. As soon as we got home I took him to urgent care and I found out that he had a double ear infection. Despite the crying we had a great weekend full of fun and good memories. It was a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC part 1

We had a big weekend with our friends the Muglestons. We left snowy Buffalo on Wednesday. We stopped about 3 hrs into the trip to eat lunch and stretch. We got back into the car and headed for the city. We got to the Lincoln Tunnel at about 4:00 and before we got out of it, it was 5:00. Rush hour traffic was horrific. I have never seen traffic like that in my life! There were people and cars in the middle of every intersection, not to mention the buses that would just move into your lane whether you wanted to move or not. In the mean time Topher was screaming because he was tired and hungry and the kids were wanting me to change movies in their DVD players. This was not the happiest part of our trip. We drove all the way down 42nd street until we reached our hotel the Grand Hyatt. It was valet parking only so amid all of the cars zooming down the street, we had to unload all of the kids and all of our luggage. When we walked into the lobby though, it made it all worth it. It was gorgeous!

Once we got settled in our rooms, we ordered some pizza and wings, which Timmy absolutely loved. I bathed the kids and got them to bed because Thursday was going to be a big and early day.

The next morning we all got up, put on our long johns and headed out for the parade at about 6:15 a.m. We were so pumped to be walking down the streets of NYC. Camille and I were taking pictures like crazy tourists. We walked down Broadway and finally found a spot where were right up front. Then it was time to just wait....and wait ....and wait. When the parade started we were so excited. We were really enjoying it...then people started pushing us up closer and closer to the blockade and before long we had people pushing their kids in front of us. As Anthony said, "We had been infiltrated". Topher and Miles started to get a little fussy, so we decided to head back before we had fight crazy crowds.

Early Thanksgiving

While I'm not early in posting about Thanksgiving, I wanted to post about our early Thanksgiving dinner. We had our dinner the Friday before Thanksgiving because of our plans to go to the Macy's parade(look for a coming post on our awesome weekend). So, we split up the dinner with our friends the Muglestons and we ended up with a "Thanksgiving Feast" (as Timmy would put it). We had turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, green bean casserole, stuffing, fruit salad, green salad, carrot cake (or "carrot pie" as Maura would put it), pumpkin pie and cherry pie. Needless to say, we ate so much food that we were sick. We had a good time with good company. We are very grateful for all that we have been blessed with!

Last week was parent-teacher conferences for Timmy. It turned out really well. His teacher had nothing but nice things to say about him. Some of those things were:

• His fine motor skills are great.
• He is one of the best handwriters in the class.
• Everybody likes him (especially the girls).
• He plays well with everybody.
• He picks up on new concepts very quickly.
• He has made huge progress since the start of the year.
• When he has free time, he spends it at the writing center.

His teacher also thanked me for helping him be such a good, polite, and kind boy because not everyone in his class it like that. It made me feels so good that he is being such a good boy at school and that he is doing so well. Good job Timmy!

Topher's New Trick

Topher has started to pull himself up (only on his knees) and I think its so cute! But as you can see in the pictures Maura doesn't (he started pinching her face). You would think that after you see your first child hit all his/her milestones growing up that your other children's milestones wouldn't be exciting, but its not true. I get just as excited when each of my kids hits a new milestone. It is hard being a mom sometimes, but I truly enjoy watching my children grow into such cute little kids.

Fun Surprise

We woke up this morning to a fun surprise. It had snowed about 3 inches or so. The kids were so excited and Topher couldn't quite figure out what was going on. After I ran a few errands, I let the kids go out in the snow. Timmy has been sick and home from school for the last few days, so he didn't want to play in the snow, but Maura and her friend Miles went out and played for a little while and had a good time. It was beautiful and fun, but I would be glad if it didn't snow for the rest of the year. Unfortunately, that won't be the case in this part of the country.

Silly Maura

The other day Maura and I had a funny conversation and for journaling reasons, I wanted to record it.

Maura: Mommy I am going to marry Timmy.

Mommy: What does it mean to get married?

Maura: It means that you dance.

Mommy: So you are going to dance with Timmy?

Maura: Yep and I am a good dancer. I can do bend backs(back bends), roll overs, and stand head (head stands)

Mommy: Wow Maura...you are sooo talented!

Maura: I know.

Guess What?

Guess what? We are going to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!!! T.J. wanted to surprise me for Thanksgiving so he made plans to take us to see the parade. I am so excited. I will keep you posted on all of the details...

Family Home Evening Fun

We had a good Family Home Evening the other night. It wasn't especially spiritual, but a good time nonetheless. We sang Popcorn Popping and had a lesson on why we celebrate Christmas (because my kids are already asking about Santa). While the kids were trying to do thier file folder activity, Topher wanted in on the action too.

And what's FHE without a little jam session....here are the kids rocking out!(Sorry for the dark pics we need a new lamp and I need photography lessons)

9 months

I feel like I'm posting a monthly update on Topher every week because the time is flying and Topher just keeps getting bigger and bigger. He's nine months now and he is crawling and in to everything. We had to put up baby gates this week because he is very curious of the stairs. He is FINALLY sleeping through the night too (WHOO HOO)! I absolutely enjoy this little guy. He is my big snuggle baby. He love to take naps with me on the couch and all I have to do is wrap him up in my arms and he's a gonner. We love this little guy so much and we're so glad he's part of our family.

Happy Halloween!

We had a super fun Halloween this year. Halloween this year turned into more like Halloween week. Maura got to dress up for library day, we had Trunk or Treat, Timmy had a Halloween parade, and went Trick or Treating. I have to admit that I had the kids wear their same costumes as last year because they still fit them and no one over here has seen them (plus they're too young to care yet). They still looked cute!