Santa's Visit To Playgroup

So I know I should be packing, but I have to do this post!

This morning while I was out running a few last minute errands before we pack up and hit the airport tomorrow, my wonderful friend Laura, dropped off the photo that we had taken with Santa when he visited our Friday morning playgroup. I was a little nervous about how it was going to turn out based on what happened with the mall picture, but I LOVE IT!! I know Arabella is not looking at the camera, but it is still a great picture. I think that it really shows her wonder of Santa and of course her great profile!



Many thanks to Sheila for coming to her party and working her photograhic magic and to Laura, thanks for swinging by the West Island to drop it off! I love you both! Merry Christmas!

How High Can It Go???

On Saturday morning, I had to run to the mall to take care of a few quick errands. One the way out, I snapped this picture of the snow that has been piled high in the parking lot. The snow is almost all the way up to the sign that tells you the section that you parked in. So, anyone want to take bets on just how high the snow will pile up this winter??

Hot Hudson Housewives

Last night, Jay and I attended a Christmas party and our friends, Carrie and Kris', house. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed great catered food and drink. We had Scottish Salmon Cakes, Shrimp Risotto, Mini Salami Sandwiches, and other yummy food! It was nice to get dressed up and go out for a night of adult only fun. Over the course of the night and after maybe a little too much wine and champagne, we named the group of ladies that Arabella and I spend a lot of time with. Even though not all of us live in Hudson, we spend enough time there, so we are now called the "Hot Hudson Housewives"! Thanks for a great evening Carrie and Kris, we are already looking forward to the next get together!

There are a few of us missing, but here are the Hot Hudson Housewives!

The yummy food, or what is left of it!

2 1/2 Years In The Making

Right after we had Arabella, Grandma Ricki (Jay's step mom) asked us to pick out a sampler for her to make for Arabella. Ricki has the gift and patience for cross stitching and when a grandchild is born, the sampler is a gift to them. I remember when we picked out the pattern and how we were unsure of how it would look when it was completed. It was hard to find a pattern that we really liked and we did not want something too juvenile, if you know what I mean, but rather something that we would be able to keep in her room for a very long time. Well, this week Fed-ex delivered Arabella's sampler to her and it is beautiful! You can see all of time and love that was put into the piece and it looks great hanging on her bedroom wall. She even stitched in her name, birthday and weight and seeing Arabella's weight was a reminder of just how little she was and how far she has come. Thank you Grandma Ricki for making Arabella a piece of art that she will cherish for years to come.

Adventures at Fairview

On Wednesday, Arabella and I joined Christa & Sophia, Stephanie & Noah and Laura & Allyson for some fun at the mall. Even though I didn't dress Arabella for photos with Santa, we decided to give it another try and see how she did with him. From afar she is OK, she gets excited and will wave at him but as soon as you get up close, forget it! She wouldn't even go near him with her friend Allyson. So in order to try and get a picture with him, they pulled over a stool for me to sit on and then I held her. That wasn't even successful...this is the outcome...

She was screaming and couldn't get away fast enough. We are going to try again when we get to Florida for Christmas and maybe we might get a better picture. I couldn't resist purchasing this shot anyway, it is a classic.

After Santa, we did a little bit of shopping and then we had some gelato. It was so yummy and everyone enjoyed it. Even Noah, who had his first taste.




After gelato, it was time to check out some boots! It still amazes me how many boot options you can find and boots took up at least 1/2 of this store, if not more. Then it was onto Sephora for some makeup fun!

Tuesday Fun

Today was Arabella's last art class for the Fall term. Over the course of the class, she has grown a lot and has really enjoyed herself. Today was no exception to that - she was very excited to hear a story about a Gingerbread Man and then do 3 crafts! She made a Gingerbread Man magnet that too adorable, and then we decorated Gingerbread Men cookies and finally we made a few ornaments out of no-bake dough. We will have to finish them at home since they need to dry before we can hang them on the tree. She was very excited to show Jay her projects when she got home and even enjoyed eating both of the cookies she decorated.


After art class, we took the long way home and drove by the lake shore to see all the snow since it seems as if it has been snowing for days. Oh, wait a minute, it has been! The sun is out now, but even so, there is very light snow coming down. It does make everything look beautiful and it is nice knowing that if it is really bad out or very cold, we don't have to go out in it! When we were driving along, Arabella kept asking for the beach and to make sand castles - but it is too cold for that now! Take a look...
They have snow clearing down to a science. It actually works great, other than taking up almost the whole road, but people just go around.

Yes, that is the frozen lake shore
If you look hard enough, there is still some unfrozen water in the distance.

The snow covered boat slips at one of the marinas.

Skating Update

Yesterday was Arabella's last skating lesson of the session. Even though she has a hard time making it through the whole half hour lesson, she has made great progress. I can't wait to take her to the rink in the park right up the street from our house to get some more practice in. Great job Arabella, keep up the good work, soon you will be skating circles around Mom and Dad!