How 'bout them apples

Over Columbus Day weekend, we went apple picking with my mom.
We went to a cute farm where they had apple trees as far as the eye could see, pumpkins, turkeys, goats and hay bales for the kids to climb.
We were given what Sophia and I like to call Johnny Appleseed bags to fill with apples. I also grabbed a cart in case the apples got too heavy. And I'm glad I did -- we picked 110 pounds of apples! Yes, I said 110 pounds of apples! We were having so much fun (and had never picked apples before) that we didn't realize just how many we had picked until we placed them on the scale.
So far, we've made six apple pies, an apple tartan, two apple crisps, applesauce and apple muffins. And we still have a lot of apples left. Good thing they last a while.

Gianna's 16 months

Gianna loves playing peek-a-boo. Here she's playing while keeping one eye on her big sister.

My baby's 16-month photo with her little lamb.


Gianna is 16 months old.
How is that possible? It seems like just yesterday she came home from the hospital.
She is such an amazing little girl.
She loves playing peek-a-boo, listening to music, dancing, playing with her sister, kissing her dog sister, giving high-fives and emptying bookshelves, drawers and toy bins.
Gosh, I love my little lady.

Grape Fest 2009

Daddy and Gianna. The rain didn't damper Gianna's spirits. I can't say the same about George.
Sophia came prepared.
Linda and my dad, aka Papa. It was Linda's first Grape Fest.


Another rainy Grape Festival. I think it's rained eight out of 10 years, but that doesn't stop us from going. And it lessens the crowds!
These photos were taken before we hit the street. I wanted to capture us, but I didn't want to carry my camera around in the rain all day. Unfortunately that means I didn't get any shots of us in our stylish, matching and free Time-Warner ponchos.
The rain let up after a while and we were able to enjoy the festival. Lots of jewelry vendors for Linda, candied almonds for Papa, sweet potato fries for Gianna and grape ice cream for Sophia.

My little "Saint"

Sophia's teacher called this morning to tell us Sophia had been selected to receive a St. Mary's Saint Award, which was presented after the 9 a.m. Mass.
Sophia was so excited and proud. She also was a little confused. "Mommy, why isn't Mikaela here? Why didn't Mikaela get an award too?"
Her teachers were great and explained the significance to her.
We are all very proud of our little "Saint."

Catholic guilt

Sophia started preschool last week at St. Mary's.
After only two days of class, I'm questioning our decision to send her to a Catholic school.
On Friday, we were having breakfast and the two girls kept banging a toy into the dining room chair I was sitting in.
After the umpteenth time, I said, "If you girls don't stop banging the chair, I'm going to take that away."
Sophia replied, "But Mommy, what do you think Mary would say?"
To which I replied, "Mary, who?"
Without taking her eyes off her breakfast, Sophia said, "Mary, the mother of God."
A silent "oh, that Mary," from me, followed by "What do you mean, 'what would Mary say?'" aloud.
"Mommy, I think Mary would cry."

After five hours, my 3-year-old has mastered Catholic guilt!

Wow, has it really been that long?!

I can't believe I haven't posted anything in two months. What a crazy summer it was.
I'll soon post photos and details about some of the fun we had -- especially our first family vacation in August.
Sophia has started school, so I'm hoping I'll have some free time during the day to catch up on some mommy things -- sleep, laundry, reading and this blog.

Pickin' berries

Sophia scopes out the strawberries.
Gigi in the berry patch.
My beautiful daughters in a field of strawberries.
No, Gianna is not eating a strawberry. She's eating straw.
And then Sophia thought it would be really funny to put some straw on Gianna's head.


We pick strawberries each year, usually in June. This year it had been so rainy that we had to wait until July to hit the berry patch.

We lucked out and got to the farm the last day they were offering u-pick.

The soggy spring/summer weather did a number on the berries. Many were unripe and some were moldy. But we were able to get nine good quarts of yummy strawberries.

Both of the girls enjoyed picking the berries for the first half hour or so. Gianna tried a few -- some that weren't ripe until I showed her what good ones looked and tasted like. And Sophia loved helping.

But then they got bored, so Daddy finished up picking while the girls and I walked along the dirt path between the strawberries and the soybeans. It was so quiet and peaceful.

Fourth of July

Sophia runs back after catching some goodies.

The firetruck had squeaky wheels.
Gianna loved the parade!
Yes, that is Uncle Sam on a scooter.


OK, so this is a few days late. But better late than never, right?

The Fourth of July wouldn't be the same without a parade (or Uncle Sam!) and this year was no different. Our city has a great parade that marches down Main Street. It features dozens of firetrucks, so it's always a hit for Sophia. Oh, and many of the marchers throw candy. So Sophia wouldn't miss it.

Gianna really liked it too. It's great seeing her awake for all the festivities this year. She kept waving and squealing.

After the parade, we had a nice picnic on our deck (I love that it's finally usable!) Although it was a little chilly for July -- note the sweater and long sleeves in the photos. I'm hoping summer feels like summer soon.

We skipped the fireworks this year. Both of the girls were out by 9 and there was no way I was waking them up.

Corning Museum of Glass

Sophia "making glass"
A glass flower
The girls running to check out the exhibits.
Gianna checking out a glass display.


Last week Sophia woke up and said, "Mommy, when can we go to the museum of glass? Kids and teens are free." (You can't tell me kids aren't influenced by television!)

George and I couldn't resist that marketing, so we packed up the kids and headed to Corning.

I was a little skeptical about spending a day looking at glass, but we had a great time.

The kids loved looking at all the glass displays. And there were scavenger hunt games for Sophia to play -- find a turtle in a glass sculpture, etc. She loved it!

And the exhibits were really neat. Glass eyeballs. Stained-glass windows. Huge glass flowers.

We also saw several shows. Two hot glass shows -- one where they made a pitcher and another, "You Design It, We Make It," where they made a firefighter's helmet. It was amazing to see the glass made. I hadn't realized it was more than 1,000 degrees. After the pitcher was made, they showed us just how hot the glass still was by placing a paper towel inside, and it caught on fire!

After we left the museum, we headed to downtown Corning. We had dinner at a local pizzeria and walked along the main street. It's such a cute town. We listened to a bluegrass band and ate ice cream cones in the courtyard. It was lovely.

Little Lucy

One of our friends was puppy-sitting his cousin's mini-dachshund, Lucy, this weekend so he brought her down for a playdate.
She and Cady pretty much ignored each other. We were expecting some barking and running, but they just sniffed each other and walked away.
Sophia and Gianna, on the other hand, loved Lucy. They couldn't get enough of her. You'd think we didn't have our own mini-dachshund.
Lucy was very fancy when she came to visit. She had just been to the groomers and came complete with bows, painted nails and vanilla cologne. Oo la la.

Fancy Phia

On Saturday, Sophia insisted on being dressed to the nines when she played outside. Fancy princess dress, crown and white gloves. And she refused to answer to Sophia. "Call me Your Royal Highness, Mommy."
I loved watching her help clean the plastic lawn chairs in the white gloves. At least she's not too fancy for dirty work!

Splish Splash!

Gigi
Sophia plugging her nose before she goes "under."
And her reaction after getting her face wet.
Sophia pouring a bucked over her head.


The temps have been in the mid-80s, so we brought out the kiddie pool. (Unfortunately, the pool didn't hold up well this winter, so these will probably be its only photos.)
The girls had a great time.
Sophia did say, "Mommy, could you please turn the hot water on. This water is cold."
But she jumped in anyway. Mommy and Daddy, on the other hand, did not.
They splashed around and didn't want to get out even after they were trembling and their lips were blue.
Did I mention I love summer days? I really do.

A walk in the woods

Sophia and Daddy check out some snails and slugs.
The path through the trees.
Mommy & Gianna. I love her smile!
The creek.
Some of the pretty flowers we saw.


For Father's Day, George wanted the family to have a nice, quiet day together.
So we packed up the kids -- and the bug spray -- and took a three-mile nature walk.
We had a great time. The weather was perfect. Since it had rained for about six days before our walk, there were quite a few bugs. But that didn't damper our fun.
We saw lots of birds, chipmunks, plants and bugs. Sophia loved the bugs! Seriously.
Gianna kept pointing to everything, "See? See?"
And because of the rain, there were even little rapids in the creek. Very nice.
It was a wonderful day, just getting away from it all.

My little model

Gianna has landed her first modeling job. OK, not really, but close ;)
Her Kindermusik teacher called and asked our permission to use a photo of Gianna on the cover of her fall brochure. Since she doesn't identify Gianna, we said OK.
I think you'll agree, it's an adorable photo.
(I've blocked out any identifying information. You never know who might come across this blog.)

Sprinkler Time!

A few weeks ago, it was finally warm enough to bring out the sprinkler.
The girls had a blast.
I was a little worried about how Gianna would react to cold water being shot at her, but she loved it.
Sophia kept drying off because she was "freezin'" but then getting right back in. Three-year-olds amuse me.

"SEE?!"

Gianna's favorite thing to say lately is "See?!" She points at everything and says, "see," as if she's making sure we see the world around us.
Here she's checking to see if I've noticed the barn sitting on the couch.

Chalk drawings

Gianna getting ready to draw -- or taste the chalk. (Don't worry. It's non-toxic. I checked.)

Gianna creating a masterpiece.

Sophia drawing a horse.

Sophia showing off her red chalk-covered hands. (And she is on roller skates, which you can't see. I don't make her wear a helmet to draw on the driveway.)

Last night, the girls and I spent some time doing chalk drawings while George worked on the deck.
We had a lot of fun -- and got really messy. There was chalk everywhere!
Sophia created a lovely picture of a horse, and Gianna tasted lots of chalk. I'm guessing she wanted to see if the colors tasted the same!

Lost child

Not mine. Thank God.
But yesterday were out shopping at a large discount chain, when we saw a little girl walking by herself and calling "Daddy."
I asked her if she was lost, and she said yes, so I took her to the courtesy desk.
She couldn't have been more than 6 years old. She was a sweet kid and very scared.
The employees weren't much help at first. I think they thought she and I were together and had lost a member of our party.
They asked the little girl for her Daddy's name and then paged him. Then, they went back to their work and just left her standing on the other side of the counter.
I wanted to stay until I knew she was OK. So, we chit-chatted and I tried to make her feel more comfortable.
After a few minutes, another employee noticed us standing there and asked if she could help. I explained that the little girl had been separated from her dad. Then, the woman called a manager.
He came out, talked over the counter and asked the little girl about her dad.
"What does he look like?" "I don't know."
"What color hair does he have?" "I don't know."
All of this was done with him standing on the other side of the counter, looking down at her.
So I squatted down to her level and asked, "Was he wearing a hat?" "Yes! It's gray."
"What color shirt was he wearing?" "Orange."
She wasn't able to tell me what color his hair or eyes were, but she did know what he was wearing.
And I got the best reaction when I asked "Is he thin (with my hands together) or big (with my hands far apart)?"
"BIG!" with a big smile.
I turned to tell the manager what I had learned, when a woman came running in crying.
The little girl started crying too. They hugged.
The manager and I -- almost at the same time -- asked the little girl who the woman was. She said it was her mommy.
So, it had a happy ending.
But it made me think. I was scared the whole time I was helping the little girl. Where had her dad gone? What if I hadn't found her and someone else, someone less honest, less helpful, had? Why didn't the employees seem more helpful? What would I do if one of my little ones was missing?
Sophia knows her name, our names, our phone number and our address. But that afternoon, I tested her to see if she knew what George and I were wearing. She did.
I also started trying to teach my cell phone number, in case we get separated.
And I told her that if we ever get separated in a store to find the courtesy desk.
I hope we never need to use these, but she needs to know and the little girl yesterday reminded me of that.

"Fire" at the playhouse

Firefighter Sophia.


Saturday the girls and I were playing outside while George was at work.
They both love the pink playhouse in the backyard. Sophia likes to pretend to cook and the be the hostess. Gianna likes to sit at the little table -- or if Mommy's back is turned, climb on top of the table and wave out the window.
Sophia also likes to play firefighter. (Some of you may remember that she had a firetruck party for her 3rd birthday.) She drives her truck, gets 911 calls, exercises during the down time, runs around, etc.
Well on Saturday, there was a "fire" at the pink house.
Gianna was sitting on the little chair, one arm resting on the table the other resting on the window sill. Just hanging out.
Sophia comes running through the yard caring a garden hose and yelling "Get out! There's a fire."
Gianna looks at her and doesn't move.
Sophia puts the hose through the window and runs around to the door. "Get out, Gianna! The house is on fire."
Gianna doesn't move.
Sophia grabs her arm. "Get out! There's a fire! Get out!"
Gianna screams.
Sophia pulls on Gianna's arm, "Get OUT! GET OUT!"
Gianna grabs onto the table and screams.
Sophia pulls more.
Gianna digs her heels in and screams.
Mommy intervenes. "Sophia, Gianna doesn't understand. Just let her sit in the house. You can fight the fire in the kitchen."
"But she's my sister and I love her. I don't want her to get burned," Sophia cries and pulls Gianna more.
Gianna cries louder.
"Sophia, let's pretend Gianna is wearing a protective fireproof suit. She can sit there and not get burned."
Sophia, "OK. There you go Gigi."

Memorial Day

Sophia enjoying her first Lemonhead.
Sophia waving at the marchers. Notice Gianna holding Sophia's arm. She kept screeching and checking to see if Sophia was watching the parade. I think she was afraid her big sister would miss something.
Gianna waving to people in the parade.


We really luck out on Memorial Day. The parade goes right by our house, so we don't have to go far to see the fun. (No loading the car, packing chairs, hoping to get a spot.)
Last year, Gianna slept through the parade -- she was only a few days old. So I was anxious to see her reaction. She loved it. She kept screeching and waving. She also kept rocking herself in her little car trying to get closer to the action. She also stood up and craned her neck to get a better look.
Sophia liked the bands and the baton twirlers. But her favorite part was the candy. She waved at everyone -- especially once she realized a wave and a smile got candy thrown her way. We walked away with a bag like on Halloween. It was crazy.
There's also a veterans' hospital in the city, so we had lot of veterans marching and being pushed in wheelchairs in the parade. We took that opportunity to tell Sophia about veterans and what they've done for us.

Gianna turns 1!

Gianna loves the baby doll Sophia got her. She gave it lots of kisses.
Gianna was all smiles, and she really wanted the egg shaker Daddy had.
Gianna's free cake from Tops. Just the right size for a lunchtime birthday party.
Gianna loved her first taste of cake.
Checking out the vultures.
On the zoo's train.
A family photo by Lilac and Genny C, the elephants.


Gianna turned 1 on May 21. It's amazing how quickly time goes by once you have kids.
George had the day off as part of the Memorial Day holiday. So, we were able to celebrate her birthday as a family.
Gianna had her first taste of cake, and she LOVED it! She ate all of it and asked for more. (And the best part -- the cake was free. Tops gives kids a free cake on their first birthday.)
After lunch, we headed to the zoo. It was hot (85 degrees) but nice. I love going to the zoo during the week because there are fewer people and you can actually see things.
Gianna liked watching the vultures, meerkats and elephants. She also liked riding the zoo train.
We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory because we knew they'd sing to Gianna. She and Sophia loved that part. (And Sophia really liked that they brought her an ice cream sundae too.)
I love birthdays. -- a whole day dedicated to the things you like and a chance to make memories.
I know Gianna won't remember her first birthday, but her Daddy and I won't forget it.