Oh What Fun...!

Our little tree that fit so well in our last place, looked a little funny in the new house, but I still loved it. It made me happy to turn on all our lights each night when it got dark & Mia discovered a great love for Christmas music. That is all I had playing for the month of December.

Two days before Christmas, we decided to take Mia to see Santa at our local outdoor mall. The set-up included a little hut where Santa took pictures, one family at a time, and everyone else stood outside in a freezing cold line. They made an attempt to place warmers along the way, but none of them worked. Luckily, the line wasn't too bad when we arrived, but by the time we left, it was ridiculous. Those Santa pictures are such a brilliant little scheme.

The line

Mia trying to make the good list while freezing in the Santa line.

Mia wasn't as happy to sit with Santa this year, but she didn't cry, so we are counting it as a success.

Since there was no travel for us this year (only days away from my due date), we spent a quiet Christmas at home. We did enjoy a fun gathering with several friends on Christmas Eve, however. Mia loves all of these girls (and there were even more that aren't in this picture - tons of estrogen) and had a great time.

Anne loves these girls & Nick and I had a great time too.

Christmas morning was a lot more fun this year. Mia is starting to get the whole Christmas thing & can open presents by herself (and with great enthusiasm).

We opened gifts from Grandma & Grandpa Inzerello while we had them on Skype. Mia got a new baby doll to take care of just in time for Macy's arrival. She showers her with kisses, changes her diaper, takes her for walks in her stroller, and helps her to fly like Super Grover. She's going to be a great big sister.

On Christmas day, we had dinner with some other friends of ours. We had such a good time & Mia skipped her nap. This is how she arrived home. A very Merry Christmas for all!

We Are Thankful...

This Thanksgiving we were especially grateful that Nick's parents, once again, drove to us to spend the holiday together. We weren't going to make the 10 hour drive with Mia & my pregnant self, so it was really nice to have them make their way to Indianapolis. They were also able to be here for Nick's birthday and celebrate his big 35th with us. For Thanksgiving, Linda and I did our thing in the kitchen (my first Thanksgiving where I was in charge - scary) & Al and Nick worked on projects around the house.

Mia was spoiled with Nanna & Papa time and really couldn't have been happier.

Ernie is in just about every picture because Nanna & Papa gave him to her as an early Christmas gift while they were here.

Since Thanksgiving, "gobble, gobble" has become Mia's new favorite animal sound. Mine too. She's pretty funny when she says it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Halloween!

Nick and I aren't so much the dressing-up type... I was my pregnant self & Nick was my ever so attentive husband. But Mia, on the other hand, loved her costume. She picked out the cow at the store & wouldn't let it go. She perfected her "Moo" and worked on her "Trick-or-Treat", but never really got that one down.

We started our Halloween festivities at our friends' house. They have three cute girls that Mia idolizes, so between them and her costume, she was in heaven.

Next, we went trick-or-treating and handed out candy in our neighborhood.

Mia just went to our neighbors on either side of us.

She loves our neighbors' dog, Chloe.

Then she enjoyed watching all the neighborhood kids come to our house.

She did most of her trick-or-treating at our house.

We would just have to periodically dump her candy bag back into the bowl.

It was fun to watch her really enjoy her second Halloween now that she understands it a little bit better and has gained a little independence.

Fall Fun with the Omaha Inzerellos!

From the moment Grandma & Grandpa Inzerello and Auntie Erin & Uncle Stu arrived, Mia was showered with gifts and attention. The real treat was seeing everyone again, but between that, the Halloween gear, & the girly toys, she couldn't have been more excited.

Mia doesn't really do kisses on the cheek just yet, she just goes for it. Grandma didn't mind.

As Mia gets more and more teeth, we let her gnaw on all kinds of things. This leftover and slightly stale baguette made her day.

All the Inzerello girls hanging out in the kitchen.

During our long weekend with everyone, we decided to take Mia to a pumpkin patch.

On our approach from the parking lot she had no idea how much fun was in store.

The first highlight was, of course, the "kup-pins". These ones were just her size.

She had a great time reorganizing all of the nice arrangements.

And she soon discovered the larger varieties.

She really wanted to pick this one up.

Then we moved on to some of the other attractions, like this "horse".

Rodeo queen!

A brief ride in the coach...

And then on to the REAL highlight - the animals.

First the ducks, peacocks, and a turkey...

A donkey, which Mia thought was a horse...

Goats that she could go in and pet... That lasted until I watched a goat relieve himself in the straw I was standing in with flip flops.

A pony... I don't know who liked the pony more, Mia or Auntie Erin. Who doesn't love a pony?

The pigs with Uncle Stu...

And chickens & bunnies with Grandma, complete with a freshly laid egg...

Next were the wooden John Deers. Apparently she prefers to be in the driver's seat & was ready to arm wrestle this little guy for the wheel. Grandpa would have backed her up.

Ahh... finally.

We all had so much fun hanging out with everyone for the weekend!

It was tough to say goodbye...

Thanks for making the drive!

Weekend in Ohio

This is Firestone Country Club. This trip was sponsored by yet another golf pilgrimage for Nick. A friend won a tee time for this famous course and was kind enough to give it to Nick because he wasn't much of a golfer. It happens to be pretty close to my parents' house, so it was a great excuse for a long weekend trip to Ohio.

Matt and Nick just "soakin' it up".

Nick, Mike, & Wally (my dad) highlighting some of the water that caused a little grief that day. Overall, I think they had a great time and played really well though.

After golf, we went to our friends' house to watch the Nebraska game. They have a little girl who is a year older than Mia... She had a GREAT time playing with all the girly toys and dress-ups.

Mia had a lot of fun hanging out with all of the kids and sitting like a big girl at the table with them. This is also a great shot of my terrible posture and basketball belly... awesome.

The evening ended with the two girls getting a bath together and some borrowed pajamas.

Driving to and from Ohio wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. Mia was pretty good and even took a solid nap in both directions. She would wrap her blanket around her head and be out.

I had to take the really thick blanket out from behind her head and make some adjustments. That just did not look comfortable.

Ahh... the little angel...