MEMORIAL DAY 2008!

"Mom I'm trying to help you pack!"

"Robert, I LOVE your car. Can I borrow it?"

LAZY DAYS!

Fun in the sun!

"Do we really have to wear these hats all day?"

What a weekend! We started out Friday night hanging out with Siobhan, Johnny, John and Liam. We barbecued and had some good laughs. Unfortunately, I forgot the camera, but the kids had a fun time playing together. John is trying to teach Nola about all the different trucks and how to do puzzles.

We woke up early Saturday morning to pack the car for THE SHORE (NJ slang!) Caitlin and Ryan invited us for the weekend to his parent's shore house. The weather was Gorgeous! 75-80 with no humidity. The house was BEAUTIFUL and right on the lagoon. Since the water was dirty and cold, they set up a little kiddie pool for Nola. It was her first time in the pool and she Loved it. We all had such a great time. We even ventured to the boardwalk.
Okay, so I knew I packed the camera, but we couldn't find it anywhere, so we used Caitlin's camera. And of course when we got home Sunday we found our camera in the trunk. HAHA! So we have to wait for Caitlin to send us those pics.

Jay, Nola & I crashed Sunday night so we could wake up early and head to Brian and Dawn's for another BBQ and day in the water. We couldn't have asked for better weather! Jay threw Nola to me in the pool, her first time in a big girl pool, and she didn't really like going under water much. She did love swimming. She kept kicking her legs and she was a little fish. She also LOVED Robert's little car so much that we are heading to Target to get one today. Thanks Liz! All the kids had so much fun playing together and we can't wait to do it again. Maybe it will be at our house next time if we ever fill our pool! And don't worry, I finally made sure I had my camera so you can see Nola!

Luckily I have off one more day so we can catch our breath. Nola is soooo exhausted. She has already been sleeping over an hour and I expect her to take two long naps today so I can get my school work done. Ughhh! Only 3 weeks left...I'm making a chain!

MEMORIAL DAY PICS

Andersen's 5th Annual Crawfish Boil & Family Visit

Party weekend Pics

Sorry this is SO late, but we are all still exhausted from a Fantabulous weekend. Nana & Grumps came Thursday night. Friday Aunt Carrie, Uncle Marcos and Connor came. Friday night we let Nola stay up to wait for Uncle David, Aunt Christy, and Cousin Tripp. Everyone had so much fun!

Well, if you were there, you know that there was NO crawfish this year. They didn't make it from Texas! Despite tears from Clayton & Jay (J/K), the party turned out to be a hit. When we made the decision to cancel the crawfish, Grumps and I ran around buying all the catfish in town. Anyone who's tasted, knows that my dad's crawfish is SUPER DELICIOUS and we also threw in some chicken and sausage Jambalya doctored up by Aunt Carrie. YUM YUM! We also had FANTASTIC weather with lots of good company and TONS of babies! I don't know what happened, but stroller after stroller kept coming in. We hope everyone had as much fun as we did! Maybe next year there will be swimming!

THANKS to everyone who helped out with the party! We couldn't have done it without you!!!

Sunday, we all went to church, to Bensi for dinner where Tripp taught Nola how to drink from a straw, to Learning Express to PLAY, and then to Maggie Moo's for dessert, where everyone except Nola got ice cream. Sorry Nola!

Uncle David, Aunt Christy and Tripp pulled out Sunday afternoon and we ALL took a long nap because we were exhausted. Nana & Grumps stayed until Tuesday! Thanks for a GREAT weekend and everything y'all did for us! We really appreciate it & love y'all!

BEACH BABY!

We all know how photogenic our little Nola is and today was no exception. Grandma won a free session for pictures so we took her. We all had a really nice time! Thank you!

BEACH BABY at 10 1/2 months

Password is Nola

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

What a FANTASTIC DAY! We woke up, went to mass, stopped at the florist for my first present, went shopping for flower pots and flowers for the house, put Nola down for a nap, went to the zoo, then to dinner, and finally home for a few final laughs before bed. Everything was so nice! But the only thing missing was seeing my mom, fortunately she is coming in a few days...hurry up!!!

"Jay's Creativity...CUTE!"

The zoo was just perfect as an intro to Nola. It was definitely smaller than the Audubon Zoo. Maybe only 10-15 exhibits, but there was a train ride and a carousel, Nola's FAVORITE! The weather was beautiful. We had so much fun. I REALLY don't want to go to work tomorrow!!!

ZOO PICS

Full Social Calendar!

Little Ms. Nola had her first play date with someone new...Sydney. We met her and her mom, Ann Marie, at Gymboree a few weeks ago. They live in our neighborhood. Since Sydney has a 2 year old sister, Carlye, there were TONS of toys. Nola went straight for the plastic chocolate donut, cookies, and yodel. We had a lot of fun and I we are planning on meeting again soon!

"Ooh PEACH puffs...haven't tried those yet!"

"Nola & Sydney"

"Sharing Toys"

Later that night and after a LONG nap, we went to Uncle Brian and Aunt Dawn's to hang out. Rosie Jo and Little Robert were both there for Nola to play with. Nola is still aggressive with the boys. I will definitely be keeping my eye on her.

"Rosie Jo, Nola & Aunt Dawn"

"SMILE!"

"Robert, I want to hug you!"

"Let's PLAY!"

I'm a Big Girl Now!

With dad's reluctance, I took Nola to the mall and... got her ears pierced! I was sweating the whole way there. Partly because I was nervous for Nola and partly because if something went wrong Jay would never forgive me. It was definitely worse for me than for her. When we got there we circled a few times and Caitlin and I were both checking the people out to make sure they were legit. I asked a million questions and made sure everything was sterile and they wore gloves. Nola was such a TROOPER. She cried when they cleaned her ears with alcohol and when they were trying to put the dots on her ears. But barely whimpered when they shot her with the guns. Go figure! She has 14 K white gold because I was afraid she might be allergic to anything else. I think it was worth it. She looks sooo cute...not that she could get any cuter! Thanks Aunt Caitlin!

Right before the big moment!

Right after...she did so well!!

"Yeah for me!"

"Ooh! I get a prize for being a big girl! Nice!"

"Can we do this again? I like getting prizes.
Hey y'all look at my new purse!"

DOUBLE DIGITS?!

This is how we get ready in the morning!

"Hey Dad! Hey Dad!"

"I know Tripp, I can't believe my mommy's letting me have this either."

" I better dig in before she realizes it's not whole wheat!"

We can't believe it either... Nola has turned double digits! Every time we hit another month I say the same thing..where did that month go? I find myself wishing for time to pass so we can be together this summer, but I have to stop myself because I don't want to wish her life away.

This month Nola has been eating more table food...mac & cheese with broccoli, chicken soup, turkey burger, frozen bagel...she tries it all (like her dad) and she loves food (like her mom). HAHA! Nola has also become more confident with crawling and pulling up. It won't be long before she walks. She is still throwing tantrums at times to see what I will do, but I have gotten better at not giving in. Although last night she was screaming and I was so out of it and I put her in her in our bed and I think I heard her whisper...SUCKER!

Next Thursday, Nana & Grumps get her for the 5th annual Andersen crawfish boil. Friday, Uncle David, Aunt Christy, Tripp, Aunt Carrie, Uncle Marcos, and Connor come too. We are SOOOOO excited for them to get here. Hurry up!

EXTRA: Pool is almost done. We are just waiting for it to be painted. Hopefully this weekend and then we'll put up pics! It looks NICE!

Shakin My Tail Featha....

Nola Rockin Out

Matthew's cousin Ryan

"Justin, look over here!"

Nola's new dance

"Hey DJ, play my song!"

Yesterday was Matthew Vicari's communion party and boy did Nola party! When we walked in there were kids EVERYWHERE on the dance floor dancing, playing, and running around. For the first 10 minutes Nola looked at us like, "What's going on?" but then she wanted to be on the ground jumping in the fun. She kept trying to crawl but her dress was in the way so we tucked it in her bloomers. It was so funny and she was off. I've never seen her crawl so fast. We all had a GREAT time. Congratulations Matthew! Enjoy the pics and bonus video!

Nosie Rosie....

"Hey where are you going? Come Back!"

"I know I'm too cute!"

"Uh Huh. Oh, no she didn't!"

"Mom & Nola"

"Cheesecake! I want this one..no I want this one...no this one...!"

Nola & I went to dinner tonight at the Cheesecake factory with Dana & Michelle. We had a nice time catching up and they LOVED holding Nola. They got such a kick out of her as the people did around us. I really thought Nola was going to get whiplash because she kept turning her head around so fast to follow everyone who passed by. I even had to apologize to the couple next to us since Nola thought she was included in their conversation and stared at them for about 3 minutes straight. Luckily, they thought it was really cute...right now! This will definitely be something we need to work on as she gets older.