Soon

Soon, our lives will be filled with lunch boxes and pack backs. School uniforms and gym day. Music and Daisy troop. Soon, I'll be driving my Big wee one to school and walking from my office to pick her up. I'm sure we'll do cool things, like grab a cool drink at her favorite coffee shop and have a cupcake. We'll celebrate her cool new life as a Kindergartener. We'll talk about all the crazy things that kids talk about at 5, but we'll keep it in check and talk about Santa as well.

Soon, our days will be filled with running from one activity to another, to running home for dinner and a bath. Soon, we'll start the adventure of tons of birthday parties and possibly sleep-overs (sooooo not ready for that! well, I'm not at least).

Soon, her chore chart will be filled up and she'll be helping her little sister adjust to everyday preschool. Soon, her sister will miss her and wonder why she can't play with her every.single.moment of her free time.

Soon, this mommy will cry (like I'm not already right!?!) and wonder, "Where the heck did time go?" I remember, so vividly, being pregnant with her and riding the elevator up to our apartment in our first home, thinking I was in labor. I remember holding her and sleeping with her. I remember her first steps and the first time she drew a picture (it looked just like Shrek).

Soon, all of these BIG changes will happen.

But for now, I have 10 more days of my 5 year old being just a 5 year old enjoying the last days of summer.

Summer is..

having a delicious ice cream cone after dinner. Having it match the pink in your shirt ads to the yumminess :)

Cousins 'n Stuff

This past weekend, my cousins came in from CT to share in remembering their father, my uncle and a very special man! My Uncle Jay passed away after a very difficult battle with cancer (for the past 3 years), and though it was so sad and emotional, I love these guys and love to spend any time I can with them...which isn't much.

If you knew my uncle, you know that these boys are spitting

images of him! I also noticed how much they look like my mom.

Super tall studs! They are "lowering" to my level :) kind of...hehe!Little wee one and "Cousin" had a special connection. She's been talking about him EVERYDAY since they left. She really misses him!Group shot of the fun people :)

Though we are all heartbroken that my uncle passed (that post to come later), I am filled with love that my cousins are apart of my life...our lives.

My babies.

Are growing up and I need to deal with it. I can't though. Makes my eyes swell up with tears every time I think about Big wee one going to kindergarten and Little wee one just getting bigger.
I've never felt love the way I do when I look at this face. So beautiful and funny and goofy, and moody and angry and fiesty and happy...everything that I am and then some! A mix of two people who love her more than words can describe.And then we threw in this one. Sweet and gentle, a loner and a silly girl. Not anything like her big sister...a country baby born in the heat of summer who loves a hug and her baby dolls. Who has fought a lot from the time she was born with her funky foot to her ridiculous allergies and asthma now. Both equally make me angry and in love in the same sweep of a second.

Both are super funny and super emotional. One gets angry and stomps her feet, the other gets sad and slumps her shoulders over. But really...do they have to grow up? Do they have to be ok with writing their name and reading books? Coloring pages and drawing pictures? Catching bugs and growing flowers?

I can't take it. My babies, my sweet little angel faces. Now one has purple "highlights" and talks about going to school every.single.day. We go over her schedule countless times a day, with what we will be doing and who we will see...if we will go to a store or have a "stay home day". The other just goes with the flow, no real need for a schedule, just happy to keep on keeping on.

One loves ketchup, the other mustard. One LOVES every fruit or vegetable you put in front of her the other is a "meat-atarian".

Both are super excited about summer and want to go camping, watch fireworks, eat hotdogs and play in our neighbor's pool. Both love to play with our family friends and watch tv when they first wake up in the morning. Both love to be outside and wait for Daddy to open the garage door to pool out various riding toys...though only one rides, the other just carries her "super high bouncy ball" around.
When I get home, I'm going to hug these wee ones...tight! See, I'm heading to the US Virgin Islands for a trip by myself. Celebrating love and photographing my first wedding, but thinking about them and my man the whole time! Go hug your wee ones!

Pittsburg

My mom and I hit the road on this BEAUTIFUL Saturday to go to my cousin's bridal shower. We haven't had that much time alone together in a long time and we had a LOT of laughs!! Especially when she almost drove us right into that river...my heart was BEATING out of my chest, I'm glad she found it so amusing ;-)Here is my beautiful cousin and her future husband...great couple! They are getting married in the US Virgin Islands :) I'm super excited for the big day!This is a pretty rare occurence, a picture with my grandmother :) And here is my beautiful mother! My best friend and amazing Mimi! Thanks for the great day Mom!Meloni and I have been pretty close for a long time! We are only a couple of weeks apart in age, and being that I am the older, more mature cousin, I was sure to fill her in on all of my wedding wisdom...ha.ha. We've shared SO.MANY.LAUGHS and I was beyone thrilled when she asked me to photograph her wedding...at.the.beach.on.an.island. I said, "YES!" hehe!This is Hadley, she's a trip...a total teenager in every aspect. Remember those days? This is my Grandpa. The glue of the family. He's a handsome man isn't he?? :)
What a gorgeous day for traveling...after all of the snow we've had it was nice to see the sun. Thanks for a great day Mom, and the rest of my family :)

Peace...

I'm feeling it.
I just love this picture of the 4 of us! My mom took it before Big wee one's birthday party on Saturday (which rocked!). I think I'm going to have it printed and framed...hang it on the wall to enjoy all the time :)

It's a...

Famillllyyyyyy tradition!

My mom and I have been baking cookies with "the gang" for, well, for FOREVER! As long as I can remember! Lele would come over and bake, along with Jenny and I'm sure Rach came at times...Gary was always around with Eric and Nick held his own. We were some decorating, baking, icing fools back in the day and I am proud to pass this tradition (and mess) onto my girls! They love it. I love it. Mimi loves it (she doesn't love the mess). We love listening to the Jackson 5 and jamming to "Sannnnntaaaa Clause is comin' to town (ohyyyeaaah!!)", while dancing around the kitchen. The girls love to taste test and I love to decorate.

This is an all day ordeal. No joke. We start in the morning and finish, feet barking, stomachs aching and needing a HUGE glass of milk around 7 pm. We make a TON of cookies...from coconut macaroons, to sugar and snickerdoodles and everything in between.

We then like to pack some up and send them to Eric (in the deep blue sea, sea, sea) and split them between us. I'm not going to lie, I then give them to the girls for breakfast, lunch and (duh!) we wait until after dinner for the last one....ha! Just kidding...well kind of, if we are in a rush, I may let them eat cookies for breakfast :) I've also found them when I wake up in the morning with chocolate around their lips...stinkers!

It goes to say that this is probably one of my most cherished holiday traditions. I love spending the time with my mom, destroying her kitchen (some day we can destroy my kitchen...promise!) and teaching the girls the way in the kitchen. In fact, Big wee one would like to be a chef (and a cheerleader) when she grows up...she's got the bug!

What's your favorite family holiday tradition??

Reindeer Sighting

If you are 4 years old (or 5) and you are in Mrs. W's class with Big wee one, then you'll be munching on one of these delicious little morsels of deliciousness on a stick!

If you are 3 (or 4) in Mrs. H's class...you'll have one without a stick. I LOVE cakeballs!! And these are red velvet cake balls (Big wee one insisted).

Happy Christmas Party time of year to you!! I hope to have a little Christmas Tree surprise for you later...hehe!

It's Christmas Time

I hear bells ringing...

it's my alarm clock! Does it seem like life is flying by for EVERYONE?? I'm sure it is, it's the holidays after all! Who needs a life when you have cookies to bake, cakeballs to mold, presents to wrap and fun to be had!

We've been busy, and I would love to post about it, but since it's 11:30 pm, I'm going to address Christmas cards instead :)

We were lucky enough (thanks Mimi!) to visit Hershey Park and the girls had a BLAST! It was beautiful (and cold)...

if you have the chance, be sure to visit Hershey at Christmas...it's the sweetest place on Earth!

Candle Night

One of my favorite days of the year, Candle Night in downtown C-burg. Paul and I used to go this event before I worked for the Downtown Business Council and now we enjoy it with the girls. This Friday night was a beautiful evening. Not too cold, no breeze, no rain...just a beautiful evening with my family and friends. Big wee one enjoyed seeing Santa, not once but probably 4 times! She asked him if there really was a rudolph and she also let him know that she'd leave cookies out for him.
The wine shop was packed and good spirits were abound on this evening. Pictures below are from last night...a little taste of Christmas in C-burg.

Just about 1,000 luminaries line the streets of downtown.

Our giant tree that sits on the square as you drive through downtown.
Just a little picture with Little wee one...of course she's not looking, are you surprised? I'm not!Busy, busy at the wine shop. I am (again) so proud of my parents and the hard work they have put into making this dream a success.Who is that among the crowd??Little wee one just loves her daddy...I'm pretty sure he likes her too :)One of the many pictures (this one just happens to be the least blurry) with the Jolly man himself.Strolling...Olympia Candy Kitchen has the most beautiful window displays, and some of the best chocolate ever!The sounds of the season rang through with this brass band, a saxophonist and strolling carolers. Love it!Big wee one taking a peek in the window of Here's Looking at You. She had some of the cast members of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" in her window.She's wishing and hoping she gets lots of presents for Christmas...I'm pretty sure she will ;-)The reason for the season. I hope you all are enjoying your holiday festivities...Christmas parties are starting, shopping and wrapping are steady and lots of chatter about the big man and his helpers are filling our house. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Keeping Busy

What a slacker! Seriously...

So, we've been uber busy in our house, getting ready for holidays, working tons, helping with the winery, enjoying the last of the nice weather...life in general.

Lots of exciting things are happening including: the wine shop's GRAND OPENING!! After months and months of restoring the building and dealing with government and state and borough codes, I am excited to share that tomorrow we will have our official ribbon cutting ceremony at 1:30 pm. Mind you, when I say "we" its in support for my dad and mom. If you are reading this and can attend, then I'll be happy to see you there!


On the flip side, my photography has taken off and I am over the moon! I love being able to capture moments between family members and smiles of kids and the love you can catch. I feel very blessed that these families invite me into their lives to capture these moments, they trust me to treasure their moments. *sigh* I have found my love...thank you to everyone who has called me and made me so busy...I couldn't be happier with the road that I am turning on! Check out some of my newest shots here :)

Have a fantabulous weekend and enjoy prepping for the holidays!

Introducing...

The newest wee one to join our extended family...

My sweet and adorable and squishy and cuddly niece!!

Born on Wednesday, October 28th, weighing in at 5 lbs and 11 oz

Love you baby girl and your big sister too!!

Just a Picture...

Of a Mommy and her wee ones before their Harvest parties at school. :)

It's all Black & White

Because I didn't feel like going through and fixing all of the colors and lighting and what not...it takes work to make a picture THAT much more beautiful...hehe! I've made all of these pictures B&W...easy :)

Let's get started!

We visited Grandma & Grandad at the beach 2 weekends ago and had a very pleasant time. I took the girls to breakfast, its kind of our special thing when we go to Berlin, MD, and then we hit the beach, had crabs and the next day Paul and I got to play a round of golf.

We've never taken the girls to ride the rides on the boardwalk, so we decided to walk the 14 blocks from where we were on the beach. The girls LOVED all the kites, Little wee one fell asleep and Big wee one had a pretty nice ride...LWO actually fell asleep while walking! How does that happen?? She missed out on riding the rides, so I took her place and rode with BWO.

LWO was being so sweet on the way home from the beach, back to Grandma's house...BWO was drooling in her sleep, but this sweet thing was rested from her sleepwalk!When we got home, look what we found!! We've been waiting for these GIANT sunflowers to

This won't happen overnight though, well, actually it does...these suckers sprouted up from teeny tiny seeds we planted...but it took a lot of TLC and this: and believe me, they LOVE watering the plants! Little green thumbs.

Paul's been playing in an adult lax league on Tuesday nights and it just so happens that a local food/fun joint is really kid friendly and kids eat FREE on Tuesday's and get to play putt-putt for $1!! HEELLOOOOOO!! Can't beat that with a stick!

We were lucky to be joined by our friends...they are actually the ones that told us about this hip joint...BWO was being her regular photogenic self :)

The next week I was super busy with Old Market Day. We made it through the week with sick kids, sick kids at the sitter's and life in general all in one piece. I am still exhausted though! This is what it looked like when I got to work in the morning...

And about 5 hours later the streets were filled with people! The weather was beautiful and the crowds were plentiful!

Now that Old Market Day is over and we can chillax for a bit, Paul and I decided to sign BWO up for swimming lessons. This girl is freaked by water. Not the ocean...nope, she loves jumping waves, it's the pool. She just doesn't dig it at all, but she wants to. You can see in her face and her attitude that she wants to jump in and have fun, but she's just a little timid.

First things first...you have to get in the water. Slow & steady wins the race...ha!Notice how everyone else is wet and she's just like, "Um, yea...go right ahead, I'll wait right here."

Atleast she started to blow some bubbles.

Day 2 started out a little better. She had her goggles on, even though she took them off soon after and immediately started practicing putting her face in the water. At one point I walked by her and she said, "Mommy look...(puts her face under, pops back up and continues) Now can I get my ears pierced?" hehe! She's been asking to get her ears pierced and we said that if she passed her swimming and that meant putting her face in the water we would talk about it.

A little floating fun. Her hair is wet! That's proof that she's been putting her face in...way to go big girl!I was so proud to see her do this!! And it's only day 2! I'm excited to see how the rest of the week goes...till then :)