Petite Gym Graduation

Today was the last day of Arabella's current session for Petite Gym. We brought Jay along to the class so he could see just how much she has improved, accomplished and grown since her last session. She loves to do the bars, does the perfect forward roll unassisted and what could be better than showing Dad/Jay her moves? Sometimes she has no patience for the singing, bubbles and other activities that are done in the class, she loves going so I re-enrolled her for the next Winter/Spring session. However, because of her being so much more developed and I want her to be challenged on the gymnastics's side, I think that over the Summer I am going to enroll her in WIMGYM, which is more gymnastics's oriented. Putting that aside, she did great, got another medal and had a fun time with Dad on a very cold Monday morning. Congratulations, Arabella, Mommy is so proud of you. I LOVE YOU!

She's Crafty

Since it has been so cold outside, we have been spending a lot of time indoors, much to our dismay. It has just been too bitter cold and windy to go out and play in the snow or go for a walk. So I have been catching up on my magazines and looking for fun things to do with Arabella. She loves to draw, paint and do other craft projects so we spend a decent amount of time doing that...much better than sitting in front of the TV! However, there are times when I come across a project or craft that a 2 1/2 year old just can't help with. So when my little helper is napping or in bed for the night, I break out my supplies. As much as I love when Arabella helps me, I sometimes like to do the projects on my own, it gives me some time much needed alone time and lets me clear my head.

When I was doing some last minute Christmas shopping in Florida, I came across my most recent project. I saw the cutest framed heart for Valentine's Day...yes, at Christmas, Home Goods already has out Valentine's Day decorations. I couldn't believe it, but really, it was less than 2 months away at the time! I figured I could do the same thing, only it wouldn't cost as much and would be nicer. So while out with mom at one of our favorite craft and decorating stores, Hobby Lobby, I picked up the materials to make it.

The materials:

A simple white picture frame, a piece of scrapbook paper, and buttons.

From there, I drew a heart on the scrapbook paper, and then began filling it in with the buttons. I attached the buttons with a glue gun. (I made a second one as a gift and used plain old Elmer's Glue which worked just as good.) Once it was done drying and cooling, I put the paper into the frame and Ta Da:


So the heart is not exactly perfect, but I still think it came out cute and it looks nice brightening up our wine table. I think it is a fun way to put a little Valentine's Day cheer into our house.
Since I have been feeling so crafty lately and I have a lot of little projects I would like to do, I think this posting may become a recurring theme. So follow along if you would like to see what fun decorating ideas I come up with!

East Coast Girls Stick Together

It is not often that a girl from Connecticut and a girl from New Jersey will get along. But when 2 Italian girls from the Tri-State area leave our comfort zones (Christa's husband Joe is also an engineer and here for work), we have to stick together! Arabella and I met Christa and Sophia through the Wee Wiggles in September but it seems like we have know them for so much longer. We have gotten together as families before and so when we had a snowy Saturday and needed a little fun we decided to have an impromptu get together with Christa, Sophia and Joe at our place. Arabella had a great time showing off her new Playdoh ice cream maker that she received at Christmas. Everyone had fun getting in on the action. Arabella also like showing Sophia how the maker worked. Once Arabella was in bed and Sophia was asleep, the adults were able to enjoy good wine, newly discovered cheese and some yummy chocolate fondue!
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YUM, Cheese! We tried a new Danish blue, Nablosi (a traditional brined cheese from the Middle East - it is almost like a saltier version of Feta, I love it), Parmesan, Goat Cheese with Maple and Cranberry, and Havarti with Olives and Oregano.
The spread - olives, nuts, cheese and chocolate fondue for dessert!
Christa and I being silly - I love this Jersey Girl!

More Florida Fun

I was just going through all the pictures that I took while we were in Florida. I am always amazed by how many pictures we take when ever we go away or get together with family and friends! Arabella had fun hanging out with Macy and Rocco, lounging with Uncle Mike and dancing to Lady Gaga with Uncle Jeff! We even got to enjoy the fireplace on a chilly night while we did a puzzle together.

Wordless Wednesday

I know, it is a day late, but I still had to share...

Potty Training

A week ago, we started potty training. Arabella has been interested for a while now and had been going on the potty off and on. So when we got home from Florida and the excitement of the holidays has settled down, we decided to get down to business. Potty training is no joke and takes all the patience and understanding. It is also hard for me since I like to be in control and this is one thing that I really have no control over whatsoever. But after a week of intense practice, all I have to say is - ARABELLA ROCKS!! Aside from a few accidents in the beginning, she has got it down pat. I am amazed at how quickly she has gotten it. I decided to do do a 3 day lock down at home...just staying home and letting her run around in training pants. I would ask her all the time if she had to use the potty. Most of the time she would say no, but as soon as she started to recognize the signals, she would say "Poops Coming" or "Pee Pee's Coming Momma" and we would take off running to her potty. Sometimes we wouldn't make it in time, but most of the time we did. And when she would go in her potty, we made a HUGE deal about it - hi-5's, lots of hugs and praise. She also gets a sticker for her "sticker wall" in the bathroom by her potty and then I would give her a window cling to put up on the sliding glass doors in our breakfast area. She would get so excited to show Jay when he was done working and then he would make a big deal over her accomplishments. Since she was doing so great, I decided to venture out to play group last Friday morning...I will admit, I was nervous. I was afraid that it would turn into a disaster, but my big girl, Arabella proved my nervousness wrong. She did so good. It is amazing what a big deal potty training is and how excited all of our friends are for her - us mommy's stick together and know how to support one another. There were no accidents at playgroup, in the car or when we were at lunch with our friends. She did wonderful all weekend and again today when we were at Petite Gym. I am anal about asking her if she has to go, but I know that my questioning will lessen over time as we both get the hang of this. But for now, I am so proud of you Arabella, keep up the great work!

Airplane Education

Every since I can remember my brother Mike has been obsessed with airplanes and flying. When he was little, he played with his Little People airport all the time (I think he still might have it in a box someplace) and his small metal "matchbox like" planes (it seemed like he had hundreds of them and it sure did hurt when you stepped on one accidentally. Grammie just told me that she found a whole box of them in her storage area...funny the things we keep). My parents would take him to the airport to watch the planes land and take off. When I was in high school, my boyfriend had his pilot's license and got Mike books from him to start learning more about flying - I remember seeing him reading them and they still are on his bookshelf. Mike even studied aviation in college. To this day, he loves airplanes and I am amazed at all the knowledge he has and now he is passing that knowledge onto Arabella. She loves airplanes and gets so excited when we get to fly someplace. She is great at spying them in the sky and yelling "airplane" as soon as she sees one. In the summer, the traffic pattern of the planes taking off and landing at the airport here in Montreal has them flying over our house - some of the planes are huge and Arabella loves it. It is the funniest thing when they fly over at night as I am putting her to sleep, as soon as she hears the noise, she makes you know what there is a plane flying over. When we flew home from Florida, we were lucky enough to have Uncle Mike and Grammie come to the gate with us. I got to spend a little more time with Grammie and Uncle Mike took Arabella all around the terminal. They stopped to look at all the different planes at the gates and he would tell her about each one - what type of plane it was, what they were doing to the planes, the watched them load and unload baggage - she was loving it and so was Uncle Mike! I dreamed that Uncle Mike and Arabella would have as close of a bond as they do, but I am so thankful for it...and I love that he wants to teach her so many things, most of all about aviation. Who knows, maybe one day she will turn out to be a pilot...now wouldn't that make Uncle Mike (and the rest of us proud)!