Winter Wonderland

This morning we awoke to several inches of perfectly fallen snow. This is the tree outside our front window. The past few years I have captured a number of pictures of Mike outside shoveling, and each time I get a new one I have to laugh because I know he's grumbling "I hate snow" under his breath. To be fair our landlords are quite diligent about clearing the way, this particular day Mike had to clean off the car and shoveled himself a path to it. So I snapped my one and only shoveling picture of the year when I had the chance! :oD

Noah's new Booster Seat

Here is the third, and hopefully last, of Noah's car seats. For the last month or so he has been driving us crazy by completely unbuckling the 5 point harness on his Convertible Car Seat. We had also been in the market for a new seat because after passing 40 pounds by his 2nd birthday he had unfortunately outgrown the old one. We decided to try the booster instead of getting a higher capacity toddler seat. We thought (and hoped and prayed) that with the seat belt buckle off to the side he wouldn't bother it. We were right....for the first 20 minutes he was in it. So we are back to square one on that front. The other thing is that technically they say kids should be 3 before being in a booster. I don't really understand the age requirement because they must also make the height and weight as well. Noah is 41 pounds and 38" tall (last measured 8 weeks ago!) so he fills out the seat nicely as you can see. It is such a hard thing trying to find the best way to keep them safe. What seat is best and what style is best, and what kind of tape is strongest to keep my son from getting out of his seat?!

He looks thrilled, huh?

Go Giants!

Mike invited Dad and my brothers over to watch the Giants/Patriots game. Even though the Giants lost it was a great bonding experience fueled by assorted beers, meats and cheeses! ;o)

Pizza Party at Uncle Al's & Aunt Nancy's!

Uncle Al and Aunt Nancy were kind enough to host a Friday night pizza party for the Massaro clan with various significant others and our offspring. Sherry and I were a little worried about the kids being up past their bedtimes but they were in rare form. It was a nice way to end a hectic few weeks, thank you Uncle Al & Aunt Nancy!!

Mikey & Mike

Grandpa & Ayla
Ayla
Ayla & (Mike trying to hold up) Noah

Merry Christmas!

This year Mike and I hosted my parents and brothers. It was nice to have everyone together eaiting and having a good time. Noah and Ayla (my niece) are getting a little bigger now so they are fun to interact with. I ended up taking a bunch of pictures, many of them on the silly side but fun none the less. I thought it would be nice to get a few pictures of me and my brothers together, something we haven't done in several years...they were less than cooperative and the silliness ensued...

Mike & I finishing dinner.
David & Ben gave eachother the SAME card!
Noah & Ayla setting up his new craft station.
Next year we're going to need a kids' table!

Christmas Cont'd...

Me & my brothers...

Again....
Mom & I
My Peppermint Ice Cream Cake , so yummy!

Christmas Suit?

This one is SO coming out every year until he's 30. For no apparent reason Noah decided, in december, that he does not want to wear clothes inside. He does not, however, have an issue with his boots.

I'm not tired

I asked Noah if he was ready to (please oh please!) take a nap and he furiously said "No, I no wanna", aprox. 10 minutes later here he sits....

Uncle Mikey's

This is (my brother) Mikey's first christmas in his own place so we went over to help decorate his apartment. Here is Noah hanging liquor bottles on the tree. ;o)

Noah & Cousin Ayla taking a break!

Sleep Optional

I have been slacking on my blogging this week. Actually I'm behind on my homework too :o/ Noah has been able to climb out of his crib for a few weeks now (he can even put the bar down himself) but for the past week he has been in a "sleep optional" phase. We have to pull a Supernanny and put him back in bed about 5 times before he stays, and then he wakes me up at 4:30am every morning for the last 4 or 5 days. Yes that is a 4. He absolutely refuses to go back to bed. Short of tying him to it I don't think we can do much else. So we get up at 4:30am and plug the christmas lights in and watch Cars....again.

Our first snowfall!

The snow really isn't that interesting but this video cracks me up. Whenever Noah sees a phone he MUST have it. I made the mistake of telling him to "say hi" to which he had a minor meltdown thinking I was holding a phone instead of a camera.

Happy Birthday David

My brother turned 31 yesterday so Noah and I went over while Mike was working late. Here is Noah jumping backwards on the couch attempting to give Grandpa a heart attack!

Dad, Ayla, Sherry, Noah, Mom & David

Happy Thanksgiving

Mike and I hosted my family this year for the first time which was very fun. We'll cook the turkey a tad longer next year ;o) but otherwise it went off without a hitch!

"Howard" the turkey guarding the table:

Noah waiting patiently to eat!:
Mike & Mikey guarding their pie:

Cage Free

Noah has officially broken out of his crib. He was put in his bed for a time out and about a minute later he came walking out into the living room. Mike and I just looked at eachother and then threw him back in to get a video lol.

Scotch tape and Sharpened Pencils

I am officially a full time student! Mike has been attending the University of Phoenix online for the past few months and I just decided it was time for me to go back as well. So my classes started today and i'm offically on my way. The first few classes are mandatory but all of my transcripts, including Siena, are on their way to be evaluated for transfer credits. Within the next few weeks I should know exactly where I stand towards graduation, woooohoooo!

The Cookie Caper

Here is Noah taking teddy for a test ride in his new Jeep wagon that Grandpa & Grandma got him for his birthday. Instead of a nice cold drink, he likes to keep his half eaten banana in the cup holder, yum.

Happy Halloween!

Here we are on our front porch. In case you can't tell I was dressed as an L.L Bean employee, lol. Mike was dressed as ummm Noah's Daddy and of course there was our little lion. We spent the majority of the eveing at my parents' house. Noah had a little fever and wasn't quite up to par but we had a good time anyway.

Me, Noah, Mike, my niece Ayla, brother David, brother Ben and sis-in-law Sherry.

Happy Birthday Noah!

Noah is two years old, yah! It's amazing how old that seems to me. I think his favorite thing about his party was that the Apple Cider donuts were unguarded!

Wrap Time

Noah absolutely loves his bath, and his latest thing is getting "wrapped" afterward. He loves it when we tuck the towel under his arms and he walks around like he's at the spa. Today he decided to make a pit stop on the way to his room to pose for a quick picture.

Fun Family Times

Mike had Friday off so we decided to take a quick drive up to Lake George to check out the fall foliage. We ended up stopping in Bolton Landing and found this little park along the water. Now there was a huge sandy volleyball court standing between us and this beautiful little patch of grass along the water. Why do we test the will of our two year old son you ask? Well in search of a great picture of course! So, predictably, it was aprox 30 seconds before the first meltdown as we dragged Noah out of the sand. I was able to set the timer and snap this photo really quick. As I ran back to check the camera Mike attempted to keep Noah on the grass. Lets just say both of them ended up with one wet foot and I was the only one laughing.

There's no such thing as childproof!

We decided to try a fridge lock in our new house because Noah is into EVERYTHING. We put it at the highest point on the door thinking there was no way he could reach it. As usual, we were wrong. Sorry it's fuzzy, I have no idea what happened there.

We've moved...again!

Ok so how many of you are completely unimpressed with the fact that we've moved....again? Mike and I spent our 6th wedding anniversary (Oct 5th) moving into our new home, which also happens to be the 6th home we've shared. I think this time it will take a force of nature to get us out until we are good and ready. I have lots of pics from the last few weeks so i'll be doing some catching up this week. We finally got our internet and phone connections today so i'm playing a little catch up with posting and emails. Check your inboxes for contact info!

On a completely unrelated note, here is a picture my Dad happened to send me today that was taken at the Niska-Day parade in May. It was cold and rainy and I specifically remember saying it felt like a fall day, perfect for Baked Potato Soup (which happens to be what I made today!).

Happy Anniversary to us!

Mike and I woke up around 6am (because that's when Drill Instructor Noah makes us) and decided to get an early start on moving. So as we headed over to Uhaul all of a sudden Mike taps me on the arm and says "Hey, Happy Anniversary!". I forgot. I can't believe I forgot. I mean it's not like I didn't know when it was, it just never entered my mind that morning. I forgot, and Mike remembered. How great is that? I thought it was wonderful. Here is one of my favorite pictures of us to date. The resolution is bad and the color is terrible but it will always be the best. It was our first "dance". We were in the surf, the sun was setting and the breeze was full of ocean air. Awesome.

Sometimes I wonder who is raising who!

Mike and Noah decided to hang out on the steps after we went for a walk.

As I took this picture I should have realized something was amiss. Noah then proceeded to walk inside and lock the storm door with his parents outside.

Here is Mike congratulating our son for letting us back into the house. You can hear Noah's utter his favorite phrase as he closes the door (Bye Bye C-ya).

Noah's Halloween Costume, yah!

I got this adorable costume on sale at Old Navy . Noah was afraid of it at first so this was one of the first times he actually let me put it on him. We haven't even gotten to the pants yet but we've got plenty of time to practice! This was one of those times where I just want to eat him up he's so cute!

There are so many cute ones the last few weeks I couldn't decide!

Fall is coming!

Well according to the weatherman we're going to have a few days of indian summer this week but I'm pretty sure we can say fall is here. Tonight the forecasted low is 34, yikes! On Saturday we took our first trip to Bowman Orchards . We weren't quite ready to do any apple picking but we brought home some apple cider and apple cider donuts. They were SO good! I actually set up the camera on the hood of the car while we stood in the "you-pick" raspberries.

LL Beans Grand Opening in Albany!

The official grand opening was scheduled for 9am. We drove by at about 7am and there had to be about 1000 people in line. I was blown away by the number of people with strollers and blankets. I can't imagine how long they were in line. Mike said the store was going to have pizzas delivered at midnight and they also catered breakfast for those that were there at 6am. I stopped by during the "soft opening" the day before and Noah found a cozy place to people watch. The store really is amazing and I can't wait to go back when I am not dragging a 2 year old around!

Only a matter of time...

What happened to my sweet little baby that could take naps on the couch and would barely move a muscle? Now he is like some sort of caged animal, just waiting to pounce. He can sense weakness, smell it even.

Happy Birthday to Me! ;o)

Today I am 28 years old. I'm not sure if I feel any different. I think I am finally realizing I am not "college-age" anymore. Mike and I will be celebrating our 6 year anniversary a month from today so I feel like I sort of have a (small) grasp on that. Noah is 22 months and is practically raising himself now. Ok just kidding, but there is definitely a remarkable difference between 2 and 22 months. I realize I have rarely taken a traditional path in life and sometimes I feel like I should have a few more check marks on my Lifelong To Do List but I don't have any complaints. So here is to another happy, healthy year!

The Glam-Baby

Noah's First Hike!

We decided to take Noah on his first little hike through the Albany Pine Bush Preserve. He did quite well. The main issue we had was there being lots of loose sand on the trail that he was more interested in playing in than walking on. Most people know I live in flip-flops but this morning I really could have used my sneakers.

I find this picture absolutely hilarious. Forget the picturesque walks through nature. Anyone with a child knows you're going to have a tantrum or two. I can just hear Noah thinking "stiff as a board, stiff as a board...". Hang in there Poppa!!