Holiday Sing-a-long

I was such a proud Mommy watching Grace perform during her Holiday Sing-a-long! She practiced singing the songs a bit the past few weeks (especially "Santa Claus is Coming to Town"), and she did a great job! Dan took the day off from work, and we all enjoyed watching our little star. It was nice having LuLu there this year! I'm so happy that she retired and gets to spend lots of quality time with us! Andrew was Grace's biggest fan today. He helped sing-a-long and clapped loudly after each song. I think he's looking forward to going to Lollipop School next year. Santa made a guest appearance during the show, and all of the children visited with "him" after the performance. While Grace and her classmates had their holiday party, we headed to The Ridge Diner with the Crescitelli's. It was such an enjoyable family day!

Big Boy Haircut

I thought a hair cut would make our "Little Man" look even more dapper in our upcoming Christmas festivities. So, we headed to Snips for Pips this afternoon. Even though Andrew has been there twice before, today was the first time they actually used the razor:-( It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that his hair isn't that curly anymore. He needed a good cut, but I already miss playing with his long locks. My little boyfriend looks so grown up! Andrew enjoyed getting his hair cut, sitting in the helicopter, and watching Toy Story 3! Now, he's ready for the paparazzi

Cookies for Santa

We had such an enjoyable afternoon baking Christmas cookies for Santa with LuLu! When LuLu arrived, she brought Grace and Andrew a very special treat... their first Christmas gift of the season! They were delighted with their Russell Stover Chocolate Santas, which is the exact same present my Mum used to bring me each Christmas:-) We made some delicious butter cookies, and Grace and Andrew helped with the cookie press and decorating. I'm convinced that more M&M's made their way into Andrew's mouth than on top of the cookies! He is such a little character! Grace loved wearing her Santa Claus apron and sprinkling green and red sugar on the cookies. We listened to Christmas songs, took pictures by the tree, and received a visit from our favorite college student... Laura Lu! Grace, Andrew, and Kate greeted Laura in their matching snowman pajamas, and they had such a great time playing with her! We even had a mini celebration in honor of Laura's 20th birthday, which is tomorrow "December twenty-two." I still remember when Laura was Kate's age! The fact that she is almost in her twenties is shocking! I hope my babies don't grow up as fast as Laura did! It only goes to show how quickly time flies and the importance of enjoying each and every day! I'm loving this time in my life! I always looked forward to being a mother, and I couldn't be happier with my 3 little angels. This was such a memorable day, and Dan gave the cookies his stamp of approval! He's an incredible cookie taster (I hope we'll have some left for Christmas Eve)!

Playgroup Festivities

Every Monday we look forward to our weekly Tumbles playdate, and today's playdate was quite special. Grace and Andrew enjoyed making a craft, eating delicious treats, and getting a goody bag! We sang Jingle Bells and tried to get a group shot with some of the kiddos. We love our Tumbles friends!

Andrew loved the Barry's Christmas tree:-)

Ladies Day in NYC

Grace and I enjoyed our Ladies Day in NYC with LuLu, Aunt Maylene, Olivia, Aunt Mary, and Genny Cakes. Fortunately, we had good weather and were able to take the city by storm! Our day kicked off with The Berenstain Bears LIVE. We all loved the show and our VIB (Very Important Bear) seats which included bear ears and the opportunity to sit on the grassy knoll. At the end of the show we sang "Jingle Bears" and learned the dance to "If You've Got Too Much Fluff in Your Belly Than You Might Just Split (or explode) Your Pants!" The girls had the chance to get a bear nose painted on their face, and we met all of the characters from the show! Afterwards, we enjoyed lunch at Kennedy's Irish Pub and celebrated Genny's upcoming 6th birthday:-) We then walked past the tree and Rockefeller Center, purchased some Christmas presents at American Girl, walked through St. Patrick's Cathedral, and took the girls on their first New York subway ride back to our car. It was a fabulous day! We've already begun to discuss our next Ladies Day... perhaps The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center? I'm blessed to have so many amazing ladies in my life!

They could be Hanna Andersson models!

LuLu and some of her little sweethearts:-)

3 Generations of Bernadette's

Now, that's a crew!

The Nativity in St. Patrick's Cathedral

Kate is 3 Months!

I can't believe our baby is already 3 months old! Kate weighed in at 12 pounds 12 ounces at her 3 month check-up (the exact same weight Mommy was at 3 months). She is the perfect addition to our family! We are all crazy about Kate, and she appears to be crazy about us, too! She's such a happy baby... always smiling. Her eyes dance when she watches us, and she brings us so much joy. She actually slept through the night a couple times this month, which was fantastic! We used to think that parents who said their baby slept through the night were lying! Hopefully, this will continue. Kate loves to coo ("have conversations") and sleep on her tummy (which is a no no). Dan and I constantly remind ourselves how blessed we are to have 3 healthy and happy children. Daddy brought home Mommy's favorite cupcakes for the celebration tonight! When his office moves to NYC on Monday, he will only be a short walk from Magnolia Bakery! YUM!

We've been enjoying our monthly celebrations and photo shoots with our little sweetheart!

Getting ready to celebrate her 1st Christmas;-)

My favorite Christmas present arrived early this year! I love you baby Kate! xoxo

Christmas Playdate

We had a splendiferous Christmas playdate at "Riley's house" this afternoon with some of our storytime friends. Grace and Andrew have been enjoying all of the preparations for Christmas including: finding Buddy the Elf each morning, taking turns doing the Advent calendar every day, and creating various Christmas crafts. At today's playdate, they decorated a delicious Gingerbread Man and crafted two beautiful ornaments. They had a great time playing with their friends (even Kate got to play with Riley's twin baby brothers)! A fun afternoon was had by all!