A little late - Thanksgiving ....

Wow I am just so late lately with posting anything. Who has the time anymore?!
We had a very nice Thanksgiving. We went to my Aunt's house and ate a very lovely Thanksgiving meal with my Mom, My Aunt & Uncle, Julianna and Brian (my husband)! Julianna had plenty of Turkey, Stuffing, Sweet Potatoes, and of course bread. She loves going to my Aunt & Uncle's house because there is plenty of room to run run run free! She runs from room to room the whole time we are there. She gets quite tuckered out to say the least.

I didn't have time to edit these pictures... or you wouldn't be seeing these until next Easter! Forgive me this one time! ha! Enjoy and I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving... now it's time to get into gear with Christmas, my favorite time of the year!!

 Brian carving the turkey 

My Mother's dog Rocky - who actually thinks my husband will throw him down some scraps (yeah right!)  

 A little Vino .... 

A little piano with Titi (Tee-tee) after dinner. 

 Julianna had squeezy fruit for dessert ... she did not like the pumpkin pie; too spicy for her. 

Bokeh Monday

Well... One thing I couldn't wait to do once the Christmas Tree went up was to practice some Bokeh shots!

I am practicing bokeh for this Link Up on December 8th -

This past weekend, we put up our Christmas tree. Julianna checked it out and went "Aaaahhhhhhhh" in this sweet little voice and pointed at the tree. She really likes all the lights and ornaments. Knock on wood, she has not attempted to destroy the tree yet like we thought she would! She likes to touch the lights and did try to take a candy cane yesterday... Daddy had to explain to her that those stay on the tree as decorations. She was fine with that... for now.

We also put up our Christmas decorations ... including outdoor lights on our bushes & shrubs, which we have never done before... it looks quite nice! We are 100% in the Christmas Spirit! We even did some Christmas shopping this weekend!

B&W Bokeh Santa

Curious Julianna... first time seeing the lit tree. Ooooh what's this?! 

Wordless {Yummy} Wednesday

This is the cake from my In Law's "Going Away Party" a couple weeks ago.... YUMMM. 

No, I did not make it ... I wish I knew how!

I'm "That" person !!

Yes... I have become "that" person at parties. I am that annoying one you see taking pictures of the party favors, presents, the cake, people I don't know, and most especially all the kids I don't know! I can't help it... the kids are so cute. I love taking their picture. Don't worry, I'm not a weirdo or anything... I just am in love with taking cute kid pictures now! Anyone that really knows me knows that up until about 3 years ago, you wouldn't catch me dead be so cutesy-fruitsy with little kids and loving them running around wreaking havoc at a party! I used to be "that" person who snarled when kids came near me or turned the other way.

Now... after having my daughter Julianna (who has totally transformed me), I have turned into "that" person who is love with children! Who would have known?! Having my daughter has changed me in so many ways. This is one of those great things I would have missed out on if I never had her. The joy of squealing, running, happy children! (Yup, roll your eyes!).

This past weekend, our good friend's daughter turned One and she had a "Tinkerbell" themed birthday party. I was stalking all the kids to snap some pictures of them.. and of course my own daughter too!
Do you go to events and take tons of pictures too? Are you known as the one who always shows up with the camera?

Happy First Birthday Marissa! 

Marissa blowing out her candles. 

Proud Mom & Dad with One year old Marissa! 

Tinkerbell cake

This is Emma, she is 3 days older than Julianna. I had 3 friends that all were due right around the time Julianna was. We all had our babies within a couple weeks of each other. 

Emma was the closest date to Julianna. 

 When we first got there, Julianna was nervous about playing with the other kids, so she had to be touching us until she worked up the nerve to venture off on her own... then it was Off to the Races! 

 I love my little girl's hair! 

 Julianna with Daddy! 

OK yes, I admit, maybe she likes the Binkie a little too much. We are doing a "Rehab" weekend soon. It's going to the Binkie fairiy. SOON. 

Bianca, our god daughter, is in the back there - with the one eye! haha! Julianna is just overwhelmed and tired at this point of the night. 

This was the 'kids' craft table. You had to see the floor. 

I am truly Grateful for ...

I am truly grateful for ... 

My 18 month old daughter Julianna - I don't know that I could live without her. I don't remember life before her. She is the most amazing & beautiful child. Her smile captures my soul. I now understand that a huge piece of me would have never blossomed if this little girl never came into my life.

My husband whom I have known and loved dearly for the past 10 years - I cherish every day we have together. I hope we have a million more days together. I love being that "happy" couple.

My simple & tranquil little life. We're not rich ... we're not famous... but we sure are in a blissful place!

My crazy dog Jack Russell-Doxie {mix} Pepper. She is so snuggly at night & keeps us warm!

My job & my husband's job. I won't lie. We did not get affected too much by any of the recession other than the fact that our house value took a nosedive most abruptly. I am very grateful for the fat that we both have jobs that allow us to have a roof over our heads, food on the table, and a little extra in the pockets (sometimes!).  

The fact that I work from home. Every day. Love it. My commute used to be 1.5 hours each way to the office (with traffic), and now it takes about 1.5 seconds to walk into my office.

My family's health. I thank God every day that my daughter, husband and myself are healthy. {Yes, I need to lose a lot of weight, but you know what I mean!}

The quality time I spend with my husband and daughter.

My friends.



And some "less significant" things that I am grateful for... 

The fact that my husband is pretty PC savvy and doesn't use me as his personal tech support when he needs something fixed. Priceless.

My Blackberry

Our new Living Room Ottomans that allow us to hide a multitude of toys in them so our house can look like adults live here too.

My camera. I love it. I am a Mama-razzi & proud of it.

My ability to find the best bargain around

Pizza. Yup, I live in NJ - I am grateful for my yummy Pizza!

What will Santa bring Julianna for Christmas?

Yes yes, I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet... but I already have the Christmas bug! I am one of those freaks that likes to listen to Christmas music before Thanksgiving. I can't wait to put up our tree & decorate for the Holidays! Yeah, that's me!

Christmas should be really fun this year for Julianna & we are truly looking forward to it. I love Christmas regardless, but now especially with Julianna being 18 months old, it should be even better than it normally is. For me, Christmas has always been a magical time of year... and now that Julianna can really have fun with it, I am so excited! We plan on putting up the tree on Black Friday. Can't wait!! I just hope she doesn't try to tear down the Christmas tree or eat the ornaments. That will really put a damper on things.

So I want to start my Christmas shopping this weekend for Julianna. Have you started your Christmas shopping for your little ones yet? These are the things that I am thinking about getting her so far...

This is "Clara" doll made by Haba ... we found this by accident walking through the mall. Haba had a kiosk set up and the Haba woman told us all about how these dolls can be washed (100x over), they're all organic, cloth, and made from non-toxic materials. She was very durable and clearly made well. I had been on the lookout for a well made doll for Julianna for Christmas and here she is! Check out the website for all the Haba toys. I was very impressed with their line of toys! 

I loooove this chair from the Pottery Barn Kids. We are asking Santa to bring this for Julianna. I Have been looking around for a comfy chair for her. She is really loving sitting in chairs right now. She got a wooden chair from Nana but I also wanted her to have her own lounge chair. I love these from Pottery Barn because the slip cover can be removed & washed. Perfect! 

This is a "Bilibo" toy. It is a toy for the imagination! Check out the Fat Brain website for more info. I love the idea of this toy. It can used so many ways! 

Sing-a-ma-jigs! What can I say? I love these ugly little creatures! Brian and I played with them in the store one day and loved them. Hmmmm who are we really buying these for?!?!

Leapfrog Fridge Phonics. There is a magnet for each letter & it talks. Pretty neato!

And who could go through childhood without this toy? (I know I had one!) It's the Fisher Price Classic Farmer Says See n Say! 

Who can resist this little Elephant that pops balls out of his trunk?! (OK yeah that does sound a little weird). It's the Playskool Poppin' Park Eelefun Busy Ball Popper. Say that 5x over for fun. 

I couldn't resist this Monster bowling set from Melissa & Doug. My husband loves to bowl - and when I saw this, I thought it would be fun to have her learn to bowl with these goofy things. 

I can't wait to give this Sesame Street remote control to Julianna... maybe she will stop going after our remote! {Yeah right!}

And who can resist the classic Corn Popper push toy? Not  me! I have been eyeing this thing up since she was born.... I think Julianna will love it. 

And of course... the Fisher Price barn with the animals! I think this is the one where you open the door, it "Moooos". I loved this as a kid! 

And who could resist the little Xylaphone? I can't wait to see what she thinks of making her own sounds with it! Maybe she will be a natural musician?

Oops!! How did this picture get on here? Julianna says that her Mama needs this Speedlight for her Camera. She keeps pointing to it online. OK, well... maybe she doesn't .... but Mama is hoping Santa brings it anyway!

Well there's more toys on Julianna's list ... but you get the picture. I go nutty at Christmas. I can't help it... I'm just programmed that way. Look at our living room from last year. We could barely walk! 

Recent Random Round Up

Pretty wildflowers at the Pumpkin patch we visited last month

Our little Pepper resting on her 'perch' next to the picture window where she gets a great view of all walkers, joggers, squirrels, dogs being walked, the mailman, the UPS man driving by, and any wildlife.

Julianna in the tub! She loves to try and drink the soapy water now (see her chin).

Daddy & Julianna having fun in the mirror after bath time!

Rainy fall day 

My old chair is now Julianna's New Chair

I was over my mom's house last week, and she asked me if I would like my old chair to give to Julianna. It was my chair from when I was a toddler. Yes if you're doing the math, it's 40 years old. It's solid wood and sturdy - they don't make em' like that any more! My mom has repainted that chair several times over since I was Julianna's age (many many moons ago!). It now is a cow-print chair.

Julianna has been really into sitting in any chair lately and also using a small chair or stool to climb up onto the sofa. Climbing anything is her newly found love! So originally I was going to go out and buy her a chair... but now I don't have to! {Although I might get her one of those toddler chairs that looks like a lazy-boy chair still! LOL}

Julianna likes to sit on her chair and read a book or play with a toy. Pretty cute! She also likes to use the chair to climb up on the sofa with me & Daddy to chill out with us. I love it!

Deciding what book to read...

"Check it out dudes! My own chair"

"I love climbing up on and sitting on the adult sofa!"

Reading her book to her stuffed giraffe on the floor (out of frame)