1st Class Trip

Grace had her very first class trip today, and I was overjoyed to be one of the parent volunteers selected to join the group! We had such a wonderful morning at DePiero's Farm! We started off with a "pumpkin picking" hayride. Grace had so much fun spending time with her teacher's assistant, Miss Kimberly, and classmates, Madelyn and Amanda. We explored the pumpkin patch, which was "boo-tifully" decorated for Halloween. Grace was so excited with the display and kept saying, "Mommy, look at this!" After we picked the perfect pumpkins, we headed back to the farm for a "special treat"... apple cider and donuts! Before heading back onto the Lollipop School buses, the children had lots of fun running through the hay maze and visiting the animals at the farm. I was so happy be a part of Grace's special day!

Pumpkin Picking at Secor Farm

This is such a gorgeous time of year! We were so happy that Daddy came home early from work today to go pumpkin picking with us! Grace and Andrew had lots of fun watching the animals, running through the hay maze, and picking pumpkins! It brings us so much happiness to watch our little sweethearts playing together. They genuinely enjoy spending time with one another and are best buddies! This Friday, before family date night, we're going to make a jack o'lantern!

Our little pumpkins had so much fun playing in the hay:-)

Boo at the Zoo

I've been looking forward to going to the Bronx Zoo for years, and it was worth the wait!  We had such a memorable day.  We took advantage of our "Total Experience" tickets!  We took Grace and Andrew to the Children's Zoo, Bug Carousel, Butterfly Garden, Congo Gorilla Forest, and Wild Asia Monorail.  We were at the zoo for about 5 hours, and we feel like there is still so much more that we would like to see and do!  We're already planning our next visit!  

Andrew tried to shimmy up the spider web in the Children's Zoo!

Grace crawled like a tortoise!

Isn't he foxy?

Nana and Grandpa met us at the zoo!  We were so happy to have them join us!

The zoo was decorated beautifully in celebration of Autumn and Halloween.  Grace had fun running through the Extinct Animals Cemetery.

We saw tons of animals today!  Grace said that she liked the elephants the best! Andrew seemed to enjoy watching all of the animals in the Madagascar exhibit, and Danny and I loved seeing the gorillas!  It was such a great day!  

Slides, Fun, and Firefighters

Wednesdays are very busy for the Colonna kids!  Andrew and I love going to his "Wobblers" class at JW Tumbles.  It's so nice having a little one-on-one time each week.  He brings us so much happiness! Andrew has always been a good natured baby, and he's a very smiley little guy.  We can't take our eyes off of him for a minute.  He loves climbing and is quite fearless!  Today at class he kept going down the slide all by himself.  In order get my video, I lured him down the slide one last time by having him try to catch a ball!  He's not even 15 months yet, and he loves to play ball!  

The ball pit... Andrew's favorite spot:-)

Grace has been thriving at Lollipop School!  She truly loves it and has finally started to share some fun facts about what she does each day.  At dinner tonight, she began singing a song about a bumble bee that she learned in school.  She also imitated her teacher by saying, "Eyes on me:-)"  Today was an exciting day for Grace because she had her first show and tell.  She was told to bring in something red.  So, we decided to send her in with her favorite treat to share with her friends... Twizzlers!  The teacher in me truly came out this morning, and I decided to go above and beyond by dressing Grace in as much red as possible.  Pop later told her that she looked like a candy cane:-)  The fire trucks also came to Lollipop School today, and she got to wear the firetruck hat that she made for Fire Prevention Week.  I'm so happy that Grace is enjoying herself.  It took me awhile to get comfortable with the idea of sending my baby girl to nursery school, but now I can honestly say that I'm certain that we made the right decision!

Grace was very proud of the firetruck hat she made! She also showed off the boat that she made in honor of Columbus Day.  

Grace and her teacher, Miss Nicole.

Beauty and the Beast

We pre-ordered Beauty and the Beast weeks ago, and we were so happy to finally pick up our copy at the Disney Store today!  It was a rainy day, and I had so much fun cuddling up with my little princess to watch one of my favorite Disney movies.  I hadn't seen Beauty and the Beast in years, but somehow, as soon as it started, I was singing right along!  Dan and I are going to have to start planning a Disney trip soon!!!  Grace and Andrew are both crazy about The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Grace is a huge fan of all the princesses!  She sleeps next to her Ariel doll every night!  

Apple Picking

We had a fabulous Autumn afternoon complete with apple picking, pumpkin picking, and a hay ride. I always look forward to our Family Fun Day(s), and today was perfect. Dan and I can't even express how much we loving being Grace and Andrew's parents! Their smiles simply light up our lives, and they were both full of smiles today!

Rainy Day Fun

It has been such a rainy week, and we've been keeping ourselves busy with lots of fun indoor activities!  Today we had a great time at the Paramus Park Mall with Aunt Mary, Jameson, and Shane.  It's supposed to be a beautiful weekend.  We're looking forward to a little sunshine!